Persona 4 Theatrics
by Psiro the Chronicler
Summary: A short fanfic that takes place sometime between Yukiko's Shadow and Kanji's kidnapping. The Midnight Channel's back and it's acting weirder than ever. Yu and his friends are going to have to rescue another victim from the TV world. However, there's a slight twist... When they saw the Midnight Channel, they couldn't believe their eyes. OC alert
1. Chapter 1: Prologue

**Author's Note: **

**BEFORE anything else, I'd just like to say a few things:**

**1. I do not own Persona 4. Everything here is owned by Atlus. (Well, except for the OC)**

**2. This is my first fanfic. So please, forgive me if I do something wrong.**

**3. I'd like to thank my beta reader for helping me with this chapter. (You know who you are!)**

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Chapter 1: Prologue

Midnight was approaching and a certain silver-haired boy was staring intently at the TV screen. Would there be anyone shown in the Midnight Channel?

~11:59 pm~

He breathed deeply and held his breath. _If there's nobody on the screen then we can rest and think about our next move, but if there is someone there then... _

The TV screen flickered to life and he let out a big, depressing sigh. _Not this again!_ He shook his head and decided to pay close attention to the screen.

The screen showed a figure who was about his height. There wasn't anything suspicious about the figure, but something seemed rather off about the screen itself. The screen seemed to show the figure in split-screen. There were three of the same figure on the screen but each were doing different things. The one on the left placed his right hand to cover the right half of his face. The same can be said about the one on the right except he used his left hand to cover his left half. The one in the middle placed both hands to cover his eyes.

Before anything else can happen, the screen died and the teen was left alone staring at his TV.

Suddenly, his cellphone rang. Even if it was past midnight, he already had an idea who the caller was, after all, they're best friends.

He picked up his cellphone and answered.

"Hello?" he said.

"You saw that right?" It was Yosuke calling.

"Yeah, weird huh?"

"Did your TV have a split-screen effect?"

"Yeah. But it almost seems like… there were three people on the screen…"

"Aww man… didn't we just got Yukiko out of there like a week ago?"

"Look, just calm down and get everyone in Junes tomorrow."

"Okay"

The conversation ended, and the teen was left alone again in his room staring at the TV.

Who was that person? Or rather who were those people?

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**Author's 2nd Note:**

**Thank you for reading the first chapter. I really appreciate that you took your time to read this short chapter.**

**There will be more of this short series, but until then, you will have to wait!**

**See Ya!**

**Psiro**

**(P.S. Please read and review)**


	2. Chapter 2: Introduction

**Author's Note:**

**Hey there! Here's the 2nd chapter for my short fanfic! **

**I'd like to thank my beta reader for helping me with this one, but nowadays my beta is MIA. If anyone wan't to offer, then please pm me.**

**Here's the introduction of my OC! I'm wondering what should he use when he gets his Persona. A GUN? Sword? Gauntlets?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Persona. Atlus does.**

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Chapter 2: Introduction

"_Sigh_. Mom's going to the city again." This was coming from a redheaded high schooler who was just taking his casual stroll in the shopping district. He wasn't really walking, he was skating around the streets with his rollerblades. He does this whenever he wants to think to himself, and today was one of those days.

"First, the TV announcer died, then a senior died, then…" he muttered to himself. Sometime after the news about Miss Yamano's death showed, the TV reporters started asking everyone who knew of Miss Yamano to give their thoughts on what they think happened that night. His mom, a successful theatre director, only met her a week before she died. They just had coffee together and talk about their careers. That's what she said to the interviewers.

The boy sighed. "As if mom's not getting enough spotlight. They just showed her in the news a few days ago. Now she's off to the city to get that new project she's been planning underway. Well, at least she trusts me to keep the house neat and tidy."

He continued to skate with his rollerblades across the shopping district thinking back on the good old days. He used to live in the city with his parents, but they got separated. His mom then found a nice and quiet place to stay in Inaba. He shook his head refusing to let his thoughts go any deeper. _The past is behind you. Just forget it._ He thought.

The youth skated all the way to Aiya's and entered the store. "Yo Aika!" he said.

The blue haired girl saw him go in and replied, "Hello. Table for one?"

"Yes please. I'll have the large beef bowl today. Thanks!" The quiet girl nodded and went to the counter. The boy took a seat and patiently waited for his meal. While waiting, he kept thinking about what had happened last night when he watched the rumored "Midnight Channel".

He can't recall who told him to do it, but someone had managed to convince him to watch the "Midnight Channel" yesterday. So, last night, as midnight was approaching, he stared blankly at the TV screen waiting impatiently for the clock to strike twelve. Soon the screen flickered to life and scared the wits out of him! He couldn't believe his eyes at the sight of his own TV screen turning on by itself. As he inspected the screen, he saw an image of three people. The three images looked bizarre to him, but they look very similar. They covered their faces, but for what? When the image died, he decided to forget what he saw and go to bed.

"Here's your order." Aika appeared out of nowhere and gave him a large beef bowl.

"Thanks Aika! Say, is it true that you can deliver anywhere?" the hungry teen asked.

Aika only stared at him with a blank face. "Yes, it's good for the business if you can deliver anywhere. Why do you ask?"

_Here goes nothing_. The youth took a deep breath and asked her a question. "Do you think I can get a job here?"

The waitress, for the first time he has ever seen, gave a shocked expression. "Why do you want to work here?"

"Well…" he scratched his head. "I kinda want to get a job so that I can earn for myself okay? I mean, sure, my mom gives me roles from her movies, but in the mean time, I'll need someway of making money."

Aika, who returned to her usual face, tilted her head and stared at the boy blankly. She wondered what exactly can he do for the business.

"Please Aika, I can, like, help with the deliveries! You know I can do that!"

She thought for a moment. She knew that he can skate around Inaba handing out deliveries, plus he is very quick in getting around places. "Sure, I'll speak with Aiya about it."

The boy stood up and gave Aika a hug. "Thanks Aika! Don't worry, I won't disappoint!"

The redheaded teen sat down and started to eat his meal. After a few spoonfuls, he looked up and noticed that Aika didn't move from her spot. "Um… Aika?" he asked.

She quickly snapped back into reality and turned the other way.

_Did she just blush?_ he thought.

"I… have some deliveries to make. Enjoy your meal." She took off, and the boy continued his meal.

When he got up and left, he decided to speak with Aiya himself since Aika wasn't there anymore. Aiya was delighted and he said that the boy can start right now!

"Now? But, why?"

The owner pointed at a beef bowl that was sitting on the counter. "Aika left without saying anything, and we just got an order to go! Here, take this bowl, and go to Junes. The customer's name is Chie Satonaka. When you get there, just deliver the bowl, show the receipt, collect the money, hand over the receipt and come back."

The young teen nodded and got the bowl and left. _Chie?_ _Isn't she my classmate in school?_ He thought.

He skated towards the direction of Junes. He wanted a job so that he can save up for college and earn his daily bread. Although his mom was always there if he needed any cash, he just wanted to try to live on his own and become independent. He currently had his eyes for the AirWalk rollerblades, which was pretty pricy. His rollerblades now are just about a year old; they had removable wheels so that he can switch from skating to running. Last he'd check, it costed about 40,000 yen. _With that in mind, maybe in a few months working with Aika will get me that much cash. _He said to himself quietly.

He approached the Junes food court and saw four teenagers sitting next to each other. He saw Yosuke Hanamura, the prince of Junes, Yukiko Amagi, heiress to the Amagi Inn, Chie Satonaka, the kung-fu gal, and Yu Narukami, the new guy. All of them were his classmates in King Moron's class. _Why haven't I spoken to them before? _

"Excuse me. Delivery for Ms. Chie Satonaka." the delivery boy said.

The four teens turned to look at him. Chie, who was so happy to see her beef bowl jumped for joy. "Oh it's here! Took ya long enough." He showed her the receipt and she paid for her bowl.

"Thank you! Um… I guess I'll just wait for the bowl. Can I hang around with you guys first?"

"Sure." Yu replied.

The redhead teen sat down next to him and decided to introduce himself. "I'm sure you've seen me around school, but the name's Vlair. Vlair Minamoto. Pleasure to meet you guys!"

"The pleasure is all ours." Yukiko said.

Yosuke looked at Vlair and asked, "So how come your doing the deliveries now? Isn't Aika the one in charge of all of that?"

"Well, I wanted a job, so I decided to ask Aiya if I could deliver their food. It is famous for delivering anything, anywhere at anytime." He saw Chie eating her beef bowl, and by the looks of it, he may have only a few minutes left.

Out of curiosity of what he saw last night, he decided to ask the group about the Midnight Channel.

"So, did you guys watch the Midnight Channel yesterday?"

The others immediately froze after his question. Chie half-choked on her meal.

Chie asked, "Y…You saw it too!"

Vlair answered with a nod. "Yeah. I didn't believe that the thing existed, but a friend of mine told me to give it a shot. Do you know who it is?"

Yukiko shook her head. "That's what we'd like to know."

"Well," he continued, " the screen was a bit fuzzy, so I can't see his face or anything, but what he did was weird." As he said this, he did the same thing the figure in the screen last night did, covering his face with his right hand, then left hand, then his eyes with both hands.

Yu can't help but notice something odd when Vlair did that action. He didn't know what it was, but

"Honestly though," he continued, "I thought that it was just a rumor, but it actually exists! Oh, you done?" Chie just finished her bowl and Vlair stood up and picked up the bowl.

"Well, I gotta go, see you guys!" He skated towards the direction of Aiya's, leaving the four teens behind.

"Vlair huh? Isn't his mom a theatre or movie director?" Yosuke asked.

"That's him." the short-haired girl said. "He lives with his mom. He has a dad, but they're both separated. Other than that, I don't know anything about him."

The black-haired girl decided to give a bit more info about Vlair. "I hear he's quite popular in school, but isn't it because of…"

"His eyes"

Everyone looked at Yu and nodded. "His eyes are heterochromatic meaning that his eyes are of different color. He has one blue and one yellow."

Yosuke folded his arms. "What I can't believe is that he's working at Aiya's. Isn't he an actor in his mom's plays? He should be labeled as a famous actor by now."

"Not to mention that everybody in school already likes him." Chie added.

Yukiko decided to change the topic. "So, who do you think was shown on the Midnight Channel yesterday?"

The others only shrugged.

"Do you guys think that there's only one person in the TV or three people?" asked Yu. His friends were puzzled after hearing the statement.

"Well, they all looked the same." Chie remarked. "I mean, they look like they have the same build, height, and stuff."

"But why would the Mignight Channel show three people? Do you think that this time's different?" Yukiko asked.

Yosuke crossed his arms and thought about her statement. "There's too much that we don't know about that place. I guess we'll just have to watch it again and figure out who it is. Maybe we can find a clue later tonight."

"But what if it's too late?" Yukiko asked nervously.

The others looked down at the table without saying a word. They knew that if they were too late, then that would mean that someone's life could be in grave danger in the TV world. They didn't want to think about failure because they knew that if they failed, lives would be at stake.

"Let's just hope we're not." Yu said.

"… Don't stay up too late, don't forget to study hard, there's money in the kitchen if you need any…"

"Alright mom, I get it."

Vlair's mom was leaving in a few minutes to the city, but she decided to spend her last few minutes making sure that Vlair has everything he needs for a week. "Remember hon, I need to do this since it will be a big breakthrough for the both of us." She smiled and looked at her son. "I know that I haven't been spending much time with you since I was busy with work, but things will change when I'm done in the city." She kissed him on the forehead. "I love you."

Vlair couldn't help but shed a tear for his mom. Having his mom leave made him remember how he felt when his dad left… and how his beloved sister left. He gave his mom a big, warm hug. "I love you too. I'll miss you."

She returned the hug and brushed his hair. "Be strong Vlair, I know that what happened before hurt you a lot, but maybe we can work things out with your father soon." The clock struck seven which meant that she needed to leave. "See you in a week! Take care of yourself!" She left the house and Vlair watched her take a taxi headed for the train station.

When she was out of sight, he went back in the house and went straight for his computer. He went online and checked if his sister was online too. She wasn't, so he left her a message.

Yo Sis! How are ya?

Mom just left today heading towards the city to get her new project underway. She left me at home, but I can take care of myself! Oh, and today I got a job as a delivery boy for Aiya's Chinese Diner. They are quite famous around here in Inaba and even more famous regarding their outstanding deliveries.

So what are you up to now? How's life? I'm doing fine btw. I'm hoping to finish high school with good grades and get accepted to a good college.

I know you must be busy, but I hope to talk to you more since mom's not here for a while, so, yeah…

Well, got to go, see you soon!

After he sent the message, he looked outside his window to check the weather. It was cloudy and rain was sure to follow, but he decided to go out to eat. Maybe at Aiya's. He got up, wore his rollerblades, and left the house.

~11:55pm~

Yu began his staring match with his TV. It was raining and pouring that night. He knew that the others were waiting for the channel to appear as well. He can't help but wonder, what was it about Vlair that made him worry? He shook his head to clear his thoughts. He had better not miss the Midnight Channel tonight or else there will be grave consequences.

As the rain poured, the clock struck twelve, and the TV screen flickered to life.

The screen focused towards an ominous figure and he said:

"Welcome to the Enigmatic Theatre!"

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**Please read and review! Thanks!**


	3. Chapter 3: Beware the Three Fiends

**Author's Note:**

**Hey there! I got a new chapter right here!**

**I know it's pretty quick (I actually plan to upload one every week) but meh, I'll upload whenever I can.**

**But hey, I finally have some reviews/comments! I will keep those in mind as I continue to write this fanfic.**

**Here's what happens in the TV! It's pretty short, so bare with it for now.**

**If YOU'VE got any comments, please say so.**

**Disclaimer: **** I don't own Persona. Atlus does.**

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Chapter 3: Beware the Three Fiends

"Ladies and gentlemen, we are proud to welcome you to this theatre! Please take your seats because the show is about to start!" The ominous figure said. It looked just like Vlair except he was wearing a black suit, a top hat, a black cape and a red masquerade mask to cover his eyes.

"Allow me to introduce myself, I am Vlair Minamoto…"

"…And so are we…"

Suddenly, two other figures appeared from his back. The one on the left had half a yellow mask covering his right face and a similar cape that seemed to cover only his right shoulder down. The yellow mask looked like it was half of the "comedy" mask used in theaters, which made him look like half his face was smiling. The one on the right had a blue mask covering his left face and his cape was on his left side, flowing neatly down his left shoulder. His mask was the "tragedy" mask also used in theaters, which made him look like half his face was frowning.

_'It's just like before!'_ Yu thought. He didn't know what to do. The surprise of seeing one person act this way was already very shocking, but to see three different versions of a person is almost unheard of!

"As you all know by now," the "Vlair" in the middle began, "I am the son of a magnificent director, so naturally, I would have picked up some acting skills from her. I wouldn't say that I am the best actor in the world, but I am very confident that I can do three different roles!"

The yellow masked Vlair decided to continue,"As you already know, today's show is rather a special one. I am sure that none of you viewers have ever seen a spectacle this grand and unique!"

His smile, his original smile, began to broaden and turned into a mischievous grin. "The play today is called 'The Three Fiends' and it only be will be shown here in this theatre. It's about the story of a boy who will experience the beginning of the sunrise to the end of the night. I can tell you one thing, dear guests, it will really be the end alright!" He then laughed at the word end, almost like he thought that the whole thing was just a big joke.

The blue masked Vlair shook his head at the laughter of his fellow "self". "As I was saying, I shall play the part of the three fiends. The masks provided will help tell the story of the boy from the past, present and future."

"Please do come," he gave a sad look that was clearly seen on the TV screen. "If not, it will truly be depressing. I've worked very hard to come up with this play. It's very special to me and it would definitely break my heart if there would be nobody watching."

He looked like he was going to cry, but the "Red Fiend" hit him on the head.

"Of course there will be people to watch! Who wouldn't watch something as great as this!" There was something about his personality that was different from the rest. He was neither amused nor depressed about anything. He just seemed to rush everything like he was just naturally angry or something.

"You'd better watch this play or else!" he threatened, pointing at the viewer, "I mean, why wouldn't you watch it? It is certainly an event that you would just DIE for!"

With that, the program ended, and Yu was alone in his room.

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**Please read and review!**

**BTW, there's a Persona 3 the Movie site that's been on the internet and I kinda have some guesses.**

**1. In the title, the number 3 and the letter M are highlighted in blue and red. What are Minato and Minako's hair colors?**

**2. The site was created on July 3 (based on the official twitter post). And, I have my suspicions that something's going to happen on August 2. Why? Well, July 3's a full moon... and August 2's a full moon. **

**Maybe the site will change every full moon?**

**These are all just guesses, but I think I'm on to something XD.**

**See ya!**


	4. Chapter 4: The Start of the Show

**Author's Note:**

**Hey y'all! Missed me? Or this fanfic?**

**Well whatever the reason, here's the next chapter! If you have any comments please say so! **

**Oh, and there have been issues regarding my OC's name. Well, you see...**

**AT first, I just wanted a common name for him, like Ren or something, but I decided to give him a name that was unusual.**

**Why you ask? No reason, I just want to!**

**Enjoy! And be patient 'cause the show's almost going to start!**

******Disclaimer: ****I don't own Persona. Atlus does.**

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Chapter 4: The Start of the Show

"Did you see that?" Yukiko had called him only moments after the end of the program. There was nervousness in her voice, and it seems like her whole body was shaking.

"Vlair's in the TV alright, but please calm down Yukiko. We'll do everything we can to get him out of there. Remember? We saved you too, and we won't stop there." Confidence was in Yu's voice; however, where should they start? Should they all assemble in their Secret Headquarters and plan how to rescue Vlair, or just jump in and take the fight head-on?

"Okay," said Yukiko. Her voice was calming down now. She began to breathe normally and continued. "It's just that… well, this will be my first time fighting and I'm not sure if I can do it. I… I'm not as strong as Chie or Yosuke or … _you_."

"Don't worry, you'll be fine. You just need to get used to fighting with your Persona. We'll help you along the way."

She thanked him and he asked her if she could call the group to assemble in the food court tomorrow.

"We have to get him out of there quickly. He hasn't been reported missing yet, but when his mom comes back, who knows how she will take it." As he said this, he knew that they didn't have much time either because based on the weather forecast for this week, they only had a few days left before the fog sets in. He continued, "It's a good thing that there's no school tomorrow, and that the next day is a Sunday. We'll need all the time we can afford to get him out of there as soon as possible."

"Understood. Good… goodnight, Yu-kun." She ended the call.

The next day, the four teens met early that day to discuss their next course of action.

"Gosh, this could put a hole in our original theory about all the victims being related to Miss Yamano's case." Chie said as she was eating a huge piece of meat. "I mean, the news about her kinda stopped already, right?"

Yosuke took a sip of his drink and answered, "Wrong Chie, before it officially became old news, there was a time when they asked people about their thoughts about the case."

"And how does this relate to him?"

"Remember that his mom was a movie director? Apparently, there was an interview with her in the news asking if she ever worked with Ms. Yamano. She said that she just met her a week before she was murdered."

Chie was then looking at Yosuke, waiting to see of there was more to the story, but to her surprise, the young boy just continued eating his lunch.

"Wait, that's it? THAT'S the only connection he has?" Chie was frustrated upon knowing this piece of information.

"Well, it would be similar to my case then," said Yukiko. "I mean, I didn't have any direct connection with Miss Yamano; it was my mom who did. However, the killer targeted me instead of her."

Chie calmed down and continued munching her meal. "So, what's the plan now?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Yosuke said with a smile on his face. "We go in and beat that Shadow's ass. Right partner?" Yosuke turned to look at his friend and gave him a nod.

Yu nodded back with a smile. "We will. Once we're done here, let's go talk to Teddie."

After that remark, the team continued to eat their meal. They had to get all the energy they could get to prepare them for their ordeal later.

"You want me to go a movie theatre?" Teddie asked. When the group entered the TV, he had been very happy to see them, especially the girls. He kept asking them to go out with him so that he can "score" with them. Unfortunately for him, all he got were angry stares.

"No you dummy! We want you to find this theatre!" Yosuke was shaking his head with a frustrated look. "Ted, there are lives at stake here, you can't just keep fooling around like this."

"Lives?" Teddie asked. He sniffed the air and gave a confused face. "What do you mean lives? There's only one person here! Although, the scent seems to be very abundant around here. In fact…" He continued to sniff the air and paced back and forth trying to pinpoint the source of the scent. Suddenly, he jumped and pointed towards a part of the fog. "It's this way!"

The team followed Teddie across the fog. Soon they approached what looked like a huge amphitheater.

Yukiko observed the main entrance and started to question Teddie, "This is Vlair's _'Enigmatic Theatre'? _Teddie, are you sure he's here? I mean, this theatre looks… sinister and creepy."

What they saw was just fog surrounding a ticket booth with a pair of revolving doors. It seemed empty, but there was a light sign on top that said: _~Now Showing: The Three Fiends~_

Chie placed her hand on her shoulder and reassured her. "No Yukiko, places like these are like that. It's quiet, deserted, foggy, and everything else that counts as creepy."

Teddie decided to double check by sniffing the air again.

"Yep I'm _beary _sure that this is the place, Yuki-chan! The nose knows after all!" He laughed at his own joke.

Yukiko's eyes lit up after hearing his joke. "Nose… knows…? Pfft…" She began to laugh. It started as a small, quiet giggle, but it turned into one of Yukiko's famous laughing fits.

Yosuke and Chie sighed. Once she starts, she won't stop.

Yu observed the ticket counter and saw that there was a small sign that says: _~Ticket price: 9,000 yen~_

He frowned. It's not like he couldn't afford it, but 9,000 yen?

Yosuke ran towards the revolving door. As he tried to enter, the door wouldn't open, but he still kept going and hit his head. "OW! Hey, what gives?"

"…Pfft…That was…" Yukiko just recovered from Teddie's joke, but now she was at it again.

Yu offered his hand to Yosuke and he pointed at the sign.

"Uh…Yosuke… you might want to look at this."

"Huh, what's this… Woah! 9,000! This is unreasonable! Well, looks like we have to go back now…"

As he was walking away, he was pulled back by Chie. "Hold it mister, we came here to rescue Vlair. What's 9,000 yen to save a person's life? You can totally afford this!"

"I'm not afraid to spend money for a ticket. I'm afraid to spend money for FIVE tickets!" He crossed his arms and stared at Chie. "I mean, are you going to pay for that?"

Chie shrugged. "Well, I think I can…" Her smile was not very convincing. As she was going to explain this was a life and death situation, there was an announcement coming from the intercom.

"Hey you there! What are you waiting for? Get in here!" This was the voice of the Red Fiend for sure. It had that angry tone that sounded very much like him.

"Hey, can I get a discount on that thing? 9,000 yen for a single ticket is unreasonable!"

"B-but there were a lot of things to pay for! There's the theatre for one, the props, the…" The Blue Fiend, which at this point was obvious to identify, was already crying. "Look, just go okay? I promise this show will be worth it."

The voice changed to the Yellow Fiend. "Awww, come on people! Where else can you find a spectacular show like this? I mean 9,000 for a masterpiece isn't a big deal; it's totally worth it!" He snickered. "Although, your bump on the head was priceless! Did you get a good look at your face?" His laugh was heard throughout the fog.

"HEY, HEY, enough! You two get ready for the show. I'll take care of these guys. You two should focus more on remembering your lines. Oh, and make sure that our special guest is comfortable in the VIP section."

Yu shouted at the intercom with concern in his voice. "What have you done to Vlair?"

"Hm…I dunno. Maybe if you BOUGHT a ticket and WATCHED the show you'll find out. Bye bye!"

There was pure silence after that. The team and Teddie looked at each other, and then to Yosuke. Yosuke, with four pairs of eyes staring at him, sighed and reached for his wallet. "I hope they come with free drinks and popcorn."

"Oh, by the way," the Yellow Fiend said through the intercom, "there has been a misprint in the ticket counter. The price of the ticket is now 10,000 yen. And there's no free food and drinks! Enjoooy~!"

Yosuke gripped his wallet even tighter and clenched his fist. "He… owes me… BIG TIME!" His dream motorcycle would just have to wait.

They paid for their tickets and entered the theatre. It was very classy with red curtains everywhere, a red carpet on the floor, pictures of great classical plays were hung on the walls, plus, it's air-conditioned.

"Woooowwww! This is some place! It's _beary _fancy." Teddie said while looking at the interior design.

As he was looking at picture, a black figure came out of the painting and stared right at Teddie.

"Waaaahhh! Go away! Go away!"

The others were caught off guard and more figures appeared and surrounded them. Yukiko gave a terrifying screech at the sight of them.

"Calm down Yukiko! They're just Shadows just like yours, but much, much weaker." said Chie.

A blue card appeared in front of everyone, except Yukiko, and each Persona user yelled out their Persona's name.

"Izanagi!"

"Jiraiya!"

"Tomoe!"

The three teens crushed their cards and their very own Personas appeared.

Jiraiya summoned a gust of wind that surrounded their enemies while Tomoe and Izanagi used physical attacks to defeat the rest.

Yukiko stood in shock at the sight of the three beings that were in front of her. "How… how did you guys do that?"

Yu approached her and said, "Well, Personas are our inner selves. When I first summoned mine, there was a voice in my head saying stuff like '_I_ _Art Thou_.' You see, after you accept your Shadow, you accept your inner self. Can you hear yours?"

Yukiko closed her eyes and listened.

_I Art Thou…_

She listened more carefully, trying to figure out what that voice was trying to say.

_And Thou Art I!_

A blue card appeared in front of Yukiko and she shouted, "Konohana Sakuya!"

She brought out a fan and sliced the card into two and a beautiful woman clothed in a pink dress that looked like Sakura flowers appeared.

"So this is… my Persona?" She asked.

"You did it! Nice work Yukiko!" Yu's encouragement not only made her feel great, but also made her cheeks a little redder.

"Alright! Good job!" Yosuke said.

"I knew you could do it!" Chie was looking proud and patted her friend at the back."

Teddie was bouncing happily at the sight of his friends smiles. "Yay, Yuki-chan!"

Suddenly, as if to cut short the small celebration, another group of shadows appeared.

Yukiko asked her friends what she should do, but suddenly, her own Persona attacked the shadows with raining fireballs.

"Well, it seems like you already got the hang of doing these things." Yu said.

"Attention, dear guests," the sound of the intercom echoed across the corridors. "Sorry to cut short the happy occasion, but may I remind you that the show is about to start! Hurry if you want to get good seats and remember NO REFUNDS!"

"We have to hurry! The show is going to start any minute!" Chie said as she dashed towards the main hall.

"Yeah," Yosuke agreed. "I paid for this and I want to get my money's worth!"

"And I want to get good seats!" Teddie said as he tried to catch up to Chie.

The five friends raced through the theatre and they soon arrived to the seating area.

"Where is he?" Yukiko asked as she looked around the available seats. "I don't see him anywhere!"

The lights suddenly dimmed which signaled them to take their seats. Yosuke sat in the middle row, getting a nice view of the whole stage. Chie sat next to him while Teddie sat beside her so that he could be in between the girls. Yukiko sat next to Yu.

The curtain was raised and the spotlight focused onto one a single spot: A chair in the center of the stage where an unconscious Vlair sat.


	5. Chapter 5: Dramatizations

**Author's Note:**

**Hello again! Thanks for waiting! **

**It's time for the show to start! Please enjoy the show since you will NEVER have another chance to see this ever again!**

**This is the middle chapter of my fanfic, and it's the longest one too.**

**I'd like to thank my beta for helping me with this chapter! Thank you!**

**Please read and review**

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Chapter 5: Dramatizations

"Vlair!"

"Not so fast!" A voice from above said.

As Yu cried out his name, their chairs suddenly grew arms and strapped them to their seats. They all tried to escape, but it only made the arms wrap around them even tighter.

From above, the three Fiends dropped down beside them.

"Just stay put…" the Blue Fiend said.

"…Eyes on the stage…" the Yellow Fiend declared.

"…And WATCH the show!" the Red Fiend shouted.

Then, just as they quickly appeared, they suddenly vanished into thin air.

"I… can't… move…" Chie was struggling to break free but to no avail. Yu could also see that the others were trying their best but failed to give any result.

"What are we going to do? We can't get out of our seats!" Yosuke asked.

"We can just watch the show like that mean actor said." Teddie replied.

"You idiot! Don't you know how this story ends? It ends with Vlair dying!"

Suddenly, soft music was playing and a make-shift sun was rising on the stage, bringing a yellow glow to light up the stage. All eyes were on Vlair, and all of them were hoping that he was alright.

"Ugh… My head…" Vlair was just regaining consciousness, but then the Blue Fiend appeared right next to him.

"Wake up! It's time for you to act! Don't worry, you already know this story by heart."

Vlair's eyes grew wider as he saw the figure before him. He looked exactly like him, just with a blue mask with the frown of tragedy. The masked teen snapped his fingers and then the sun turned blue and gave off a turquoise light.

"Here's the first act. It's called_ Blue Dawn_."

The Blue Fiend bowed to the audience that consisted of five people and then turned to face Vlair who was still strapped to his seat.

"'O, faithful morn, you are the steering wheel of the day. You who symbolize the start, the beginning, please let me tell you a story." He motioned his head to Vlair and started to tell his story. "Father and mother, 'o do these lovers quarrel over one another. Brother and sister pleaded them to stop their fighting, but could not stop their endless hatred. Then, judgement came and separated them. Father with his daughter, while mother with her son. Does this sound familiar to you?"

Vlair gripped his seat even tighter when he asked that question. "How did you…" Before he could finish his sentence, the Blue Fiend pulled out a handkerchief to wipe his tears away.

"It breaks my heart to remember the lines of that story. Why, it just brings tears to my eyes every time I rehearse. It truly is a depressing past. But it's not yet over. There's still more to that story." He then called out to the sun saying, "Do you hear me? Have you not done enough? Fate, you who I call friend, oh how the tables have turned." He grabbed Vlair's seat and continued talking. "His tale continues to bring sadness in his heart. First, he lost his father and beloved sister, but now he must say goodbye to his 'friends'." The Fiend faced Vlair and spoke. "You didn't have any did you?"

Vlair, all by himself, being questioned by someone who knows his past can't help but panic in fear. "WHO ARE YOU? Stop this, let me GO!"

The Blue Fiend, now more menacing, covered his mask with his hand and replied, "Can't you tell? I am you."

But before Vlair could understand what he meant, the Fiend continued his role. "He was considered weird with his eyes. It just didn't fit in the city. Others teased him about his condition and made fun of him everyday. And what's with that name? _Vlair_? It's not even a word! The endless amount of name calling and teasing was too much for him to bear, which made him anti-social. He was alone in school and didn't have many friends. To those who he called friends couldn't stay in the city anymore and moved on. Everyday from school, he'd go home and study all by himself. To him, even if his father and sister were gone, even if he didn't have a lot of friends, even if he had anti-social attitudes, he said that he was fine. Just fine."

The Blue Fiend began to cry. This was the Blue Fiend that everyone knew. But if the Blue Fiend is Vlair, then this is also what Vlair was doing in his heart.

"It's not FINE! How can it be just fine? I live a life of loneliness and sadness and that the only person who's there for me is always busy with work! I just want to make friends and I know I can, but they won't give me a chance to. If I act like myself around them, they'll just think I'm weird and throw me away. _'It's okay' _I said, _'okay, okay, okay'_ WHAT AM I? AN IDIOT? My whole life is turned upside down. My dad left, my mom is too busy to know that I exist, and my sister, my only friend, who I can always count on, wasn't there with me anymore. And it's all your fault!" He grabbed Vlair by the shoulders and started shaking him violently.

"You did this! You made me miserable! If you think that it's okay to live like that then you really are a tragedy!"

The Blue Fiend stopped and fell down to his knees. His tears were accompanied by Vlair's tears. They both knew about this story, but only one of them was willing enough to show how they truly feel.

"I… I am sorry things turned out this way. But I changed…" Vlair was then pulled back by another figure who looked like him but was wearing a yellow mask.

"Oh, you changed alright but we both know the truth." The Yellow Fiend appeared on stage and the Blue Fiend exited while covering his face with his hands.

The scene changed and instead of a blue sun, there was a red sky. It looked like the sun was setting now.

Vlair could not believe his eyes again. He was seeing himself with a yellow mask just laughing in front of him. "Hey who are you? Didn't you just exit the stage?"

The Yellow Fiend just kept laughing and laughing, amused by Vlair's questions. "You still don't know? Let me cover my face. Maybe that will give you a hint." He covered his mask and stared right into Vlair's eyes. Then, he faced the audience and clapped his hands.

"That was a magnificent performance! There was no better way to open than that! But here's the next act: _Yellow Sunset_," After he said this, instead of a red background, it became yellow.

He bowed and stared into the horizon. "'O beautiful sun, now that you begin to set, may you forever rest in peace. This is just the middle of our story which takes place in the present. May you hear my words and laugh at them! I'm sure it will suit your taste."

"Laugh at them? Why? There's nothing wrong about who I am now!" Vlair denied what the figure said in front of him. "There's nothing funny about my life here in Inaba!"

The Yellow Fiend laughed even louder at his remark. "Surely you know that it's funny. Here let me tell you."

He gestured his hand to the audience and told them the story. "The boy and his mother moved out of the city. They did so because they wanted some peace and quiet in their lives. The mother, who wasn't that great of a director, continued to work hard for the welfare of them both. Spending everyday working even if she knew that the boy was hurting. Soon, the boy went to school again. It was the same. They all laughed at him and why shouldn't they? He didn't fit in, and not to mention he was anti-social. That's when he decided to change. _'No more, no more, if they want me to fit in, then so be it!'_ With his acting experience, he became what everybody wanted him to be."

He faced Vlair and smiled. "Do you know now why it's so funny? Tell me my dear audience, do you know who 'Vlair Minamoto' is?"

The audience was silent. What kind of a question was that?

"I'll tell you who he is! He's nothing but a big fake!" The Yellow Fiend burst gave a maniacal laugh that echoed in the theatre. "If you want an athletic guy, he's your man! Do you need a super genius to help you with your homework, he'll be there! Not your type, well he'll become who you want him to be! Heck, he will become anyone if they need him to change! He can become perfect in every way!"

The Fiend looked at Vlair with his one yellow eye and spoke. "Tell me, when are you going to give up this charade? You do know that this is just a facade to hide yourself."

Vlair began to shake. He just could not find it in his heart to deny what he just heard. Sweat was dripping from his forehead and nausea was beginning to develop inside him. The figure that was standing in front of him knew about who he was and his inner feelings, and that person was going to tell his biggest secret, or rather, his biggest mistake.

"It's all one big lie! He pretended to be perfect! He became this 'Mary Sue' figure to everyone just so that he can be accepted by society! Whatever they want, he will become. He will try his best just so that he can have friends! Tell me, who is the puppet and who's pulling the strings? Answer: They are the puppeteer while I am the dummy!" The Fiend placed a hand on his face and burst out laughing at his explanation. "I am a fool who lied his way to the top! It is I who pretended to become someone who I am not. Everyone doesn't know the real me; they just know me for who they want me to be. Well, I'll tell you who I really am. I am a liar! Pretender! A fraud and a charlatan!"

He turned to face a speechless Vlair; his smile turned into a maniacal grin. "Can you accept this life you are living now? Can you live a life filled with lies and deception for the sake of you just having friends? I thought that if I became what everybody wanted, then they would accept me, but I was wrong. They only accepted me because of what they see in the outside; they didn't accept me for who I am in the inside. I truly am a great actor if I can be able to deceive that many people. But tell me, what happens when they find out that I am a sham?"

Vlair bit his lip and looked away. "I don't know." He said, but he already knew the answer: they will throw him away just like before, only now they have a good reason to do it.

The Yellow Fiend stood up straight, raised his hands in the air and said his final words, "Ladies and gentlemen, I have deceived everyone through lies and deception, but the person who I hurt the most was myself. You know what the funny thing is? I was okay with that! HA HA HA HA! I am nothing but a joke, a big comedic joke!"

The sound of his laughter boomed and echoed in the whole amphitheater. Everybody thought that he was crazy, but then they caught a glimpse of a tear trickling down his face. He was laughing, yes, but he did that to make himself feel better. That was the nature of the Yellow Fiend. He acted like he was okay with his present life, trying to hide the tears with laughter, but deep down he was hurting himself. Was this what Vlair felt too?

Vlair couldn't help but feel like this is just one big nightmare and that he needed to wake up. He can't stand staying here anymore; it was just too much! He closed his eyes and tried to force himself to wake up from this bad dream.

Then, out of nowhere, a hand shot out of the darkness and pulled Vlair's seat towards the edge of the stage, almost throwing him off. "Oh no you don't! You aren't going to sleep just yet. There's still one more chapter in our play. It's MY turn!" The Red Fiend started shaking the chair violently making Vlair a hundred percent conscious of what was happening to him. The Fiend then pulled the chair back to the center and clapped his hands twice.

The scene shifted to night time where the moon and the stars could be seen in the calm blue sky.

"Look up there," he said. "Don't you think it's peaceful?" He then turned to face the audience. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the final chapter: _Red Night_. Here's the end of our play, and may I remind you that this is really the end!" He turned to face the moon and stretched out his hand. "'O glorious moon, you who ends the day, may you grant me this one wish before you end. My wish is to end everything myself! Please, give me some of your time and hear this short story of mine." He bowed to the moon then bowed to the audience.

"Who… who are you?" Vlair just wanted everything to end. He wanted to leave this horrible place filled only with his past and present regrets. He didn't want to ask fearing the worst, but he couldn't help himself.

The Red Fiend turned to face the boy and smiled. "You know, the other two had a mask to cover half their faces. My mask only hides my eyes, but half of my face is still shown. So tell me, WHY HAVEN'T YOU FIGURED OUT BY NOW? I AM YOU!" The background changed, and instead of a calm blue night, it became painted with red all over. He ignored Vlair and began his story. "I am the Red Fiend. I do not exist just yet, but I am here to tell the boy's tale because I know how it ends. You can say that I am the future of the lad." He faces the audience again, fixing his gaze towards the five people in their seats. "The boy's life will soon hit a stop. Even if his life right now seems to be perfect, his mom doing great with work and has more time to spend with him, his friends in school who have accepted him for something he isn't, but what happens when it ends?"

The audience was silent. They know who the Red Fiend is and how he acts. They know that this "end" he talks about isn't going to be some "and they all lived happily ever after" kind of end.

The Red Fiend raised his head to the moon and continued. "If the mom's gone, he will be left alone won't he? If his friends find out who he really is, they'll just leave him too. The boy will be in a disastrous life. No friends, no family. What will he do? I know the answer of course." He made a gun gesture with his hand and placed his finger right next to the side of his forehead. "I'll just die from my own hand." He acted as if he pressed the trigger and shot himself.

Vlair, almost on the verge of going crazy, was wondering why the person standing before thought that he was going to commit suicide. "Why would I do that? I'd never do that! It's just…"

"…The way things are going to be!" the Red Fiend interrupted. "Look you idiot, if mom's gone, who's going to take care of me? Dad's not exactly the kind of person who'd accept you with open arms, and even if sis talks to you every now and then, who's to say that she even misses you? I can see it now clear as day, me shooting myself square in the forehead because my whole world is turned upside down."

"No! I won't do it! There's just so much that I haven't done yet! I want to live a wonderful life and die happy knowing that I lived a very fulfilling one. How can you just give up on your life?"

"IDIOT! Can't you see it? In the past, you were nothing. You were hopeless. In the present, you lied to hide your uselessness. What makes you say that in the future, you will be a changed person when you haven't even accepted your past!"

"My… past?"

"That's right, stupid!" The Red Fiend lifted up the seat with his own two hands. "You couldn't accept the past, so now you're trying your best to make up for it by playing this game of charade. I will die knowing that history repeats itself and that you will be all alone in the future, just like you were before."

He threw the chair across the room with Vlair still sitting on it. A cry of pain was heard and Vlair was starting to see three people approaching him.

"You know the things we've said are true." The Red Fiend said.

"Your past was a compete tragedy, but since you didn't accept it…" The Blue Fiend started.

"…You tried to make up for it by becoming someone you're not. That was the one joke that hurt the most. And since you still decided to ignore what you were before…" The Yellow Fiend continued.

"… it will keep following you until the day you die." The Red Fiend finished.

Suddenly, the Three Fiends were giving off different shades of auras. Blue. Yellow. Red. The auras were enveloping the theatre causing feelings of joy, sadness, and hatred to swirl around the audience.

"Do you know how we know this? Do you still deny who you are?" The Red Fiend continued. "Admit it, you hate who you are! Your anger boils down deep within you! You hate the others for not wanting to accept you. You hate your parents for separating! But most of all, you hate yourself for not accepting who you are!"

"No… no…" Vlair was still on the ground strapped in his chair feeling a ton of emotions going haywire in his head. He couldn't take it anymore. Just what do those people want from him?

"Well, do you accept us for who we are? Or is your hatred for us stronger than you have ever imagined?"

"No… no, this is not…"

The Three Fiends were now in unison. Their voices were now one. "Can't you see? For the last time, WE ARE YOU!"

Vlair, with everything that has happened now, the tragedy of his past, the fake nature of his present, and the prediction of his future, he didn't know what to say. He reached a point where he didn't know what he was doing. Suddenly, all of the emotions that he was trying to control suddenly broke free.

"YOU'RE NOT ME!"

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**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6: The Show Stopper

**Author's Note:**

**Hello again! It's nice to see you!**

**Here's A short chapter just for you! I know that most of my chapters are short and have a certain writing style, but that's my way of writing.**

**I don't know really. Maybe I just like to write short chapters?**

**Anyway, here it is! **

**Don't forget to read and review!**

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Chapter 6: The Show Stopper

The three Fiends now floated in the air, laughing at those very words. They were being enveloped by a black cloud swirling around them. The whole theatre was shaking and the lights were flickering on and off. The black cloud formed a black mass around the three Fiends and the laughter kept going. In unison, they said, "You still deny who we are? Well then, it's time for the final act!"

Yu and the others saw that everything around them was disappearing. Chandeliers, tables, booths, _everything_. Within a few moments, they were released from their chairs and found themselves facing Vlair's Shadow.

The Shadow that appeared was huge. It still had the cape that the Red Fiend had hanging down it's back, but it's head was different. It had three masks on it: a blue one, a yellow one, and a red one, which kept rotating. It had a rather muscular build and at it's chest there was a combination of all the Fiends masks combined into one. The masquerade for it's "eyes" and the smile and frown of the comedy and tragedy masks for it's "mouth".

The Shadow, towering over all of them, spoke, "We are a Shadow, the true self... Those who can't accept us doesn't deserve to live!" The Shadow Fiend brought up it's arm and slammed it to the ground. The whole theatre trembled and shook while Vlair was still strapped to his chair.

All four teens called out for their Personas.

"Izanagi!"

"Jiraiya!"

"Tomoe!"

"Konohana!"

"Sensei!" Teddie called out. Yu questioned him. "What is it Teddie?"

"Sensei, I'll try to find a way out. This Shadow… I can sense it's power. It's a _beary_ strong one! Please do your best while I find an exit!"

"Alright Teddie. Go!" Yu announced. Teddie gave a salute and barrel-rolled away to find the exit.

"Vlair!" Yosuke shouted as he was running towards him. The Shadow saw this and reacted by rotating it's head and showing the yellow smiling mask.

"Oh, no you don't! You can't just leave like that!" It snapped it's fingers and a white light surrounded the Fiend.

Yosuke stopped in his tracks and Jiraiya was facing the Shadow. "What the…?"

The head rotated again and showed a blue frowning mask. "I'm in the limelight! So don't just ignore me!" He punched in Yosuke's direction but missed.

Tomoe did an ice attack to stop the Shadow from moving, but it didn't seem to hurt it much.

"Ow! Hey, that hurts…" The head changed it's face to a red angry mask. "…NOT! TAKE THIS!" With great speed, it punched again, this time hitting Tomoe. Chie staggered for a moment but managed to recover from the hit.

"Wow… this one's strong…" She said panting.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Yosuke said as he was regrouping with the others. "This guy's totally at a whole other level! Nothing we dish out seems to hurt him!"

The Shadow Fiend let out a large cry and kept trying to punch the young teens.

"YOU CAN'T HIDE! YOU CAN'T WIN! WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO NOW?" The face changed again to the yellow mask. "Maybe they'll just DIE! Hahahaha!"

He let out another flurry of punches and Yu and the others were forced to hide behind a pillar. The Shadow changed faces again. "Why are you hiding from me? You don't like me do you?"

Yu noticed the movements of the Shadow and told the others his observations. "He only uses physical attacks! Everyone, use magic on my signal!"

Everybody nodded and Yu ran across the theatre, trying to distract the Shadow. "THERE YOU ARE! TAKE THIS!" Yu dodged the Shadow's punch at the last second and signaled the others to strike. "Now!" The others crushed their cards and their Personas delivered a combination of wind, ice, fire, and electric magic at the Shadow Fiend. The elements merged and became one and hit the Shadow in the head causing a huge cloud of smoke.

The others regrouped and Yukiko healed everyone with Konohana's magic. They stared into the smoke cloud and couldn't see anything. "Do… Do you think it's dead?" Yukiko asked.

After she said that, a giant hand reached out of the smoke and grabbed her. "GOT YOU!" The Shadow Fiend rose out of the smoke, still looking better than ever, showing it's red, angry face. "DO YOU THINK I'D GO DOWN THAT EASILY?"

It suddenly switched to the blue mask and continued. "But that last one really did hurt a bit…"

It then changed to the red one again. "SHUT UP! QUIT COMPLAINING!"

It changed again. "But it hurts…"

And again. "Hahaha! Look at you two arguing, it's so funny! But at least now…" he looked at Yukiko, "… we'll have even more fun!"

He got his other hand and formed it into a fist. He was about to punch the living lights out of Yukiko until it heard a huge roar.

"Titan!"

Yu changed his Persona from Izanagi to Titan and managed to stop the Shadow from attacking Yukiko. The Shadow, looking confused, kept switching personalities.

"WHAT THE?…How the?…Hey look, a jolly yellow giant!"

Titan, a head smaller than the Shadow, punched it's face. The Shadow staggered and dropped Yukiko in the process.

"AAAAHHHHH!" she screamed.

"Titan! Catch her!"

Titan managed to catch her just in time and let her down gently to the ground. Yukiko, breathing rapidly, said, "Thanks… Yu-kun…" Yu came to her side and said, "Easy there… just rest for a while… We'll handle this."

Yu gave Titan a signal and the Persona rushed towards the Shadow with sword in hand. The Shadow, now back to it's senses, switched to it's red mask.

"OH, YOU THINK YOU'RE SO TOUGH! COME ON, YA LITTLE PIPSQUEAK!" The Shadow Fiend, the much faster one, knocked the sword out of Titan's hand and punched his face. Yu felt the strain on that hit and knew in an instant that he couldn't take a lot more hits. Soon, both Persona and Shadow grappled into a brawl, trading punches with each other.

"Guys, some backup would be nice." Yu said while concentrating on the fight.

"Alright partner, help is on the way!" Yosuke said giving a thumbs up.

While the Shadow was busy with Titan, Jiraiya and Tomoe used their wind and ice spells and caused a blizzard to strike the Fiend while Konohana healed Titan from it's wounds. Feeling a lot better, Titan gave a massive right uppercut to the Shadow's face sending him flying back to the stage.

There was no more light surrounding him and Chie ran to get Vlair out of his seat.

She found him on the same spot where he was laid right after he was tossed across the stage. She untied his binds and checked to see if he was still conscious.

"Is he okay?" Yosuke asked when he arrived.

"Yes, he's still breathing, where's Yukiko, we need to heal him!"

"She's busy healing Yu, I'll do it." Yosuke crushed his card and Jiraiya healed Vlair from his small bruises.

"Nice job, Yosuke!" Chie said giving him a thumbs up. Yosuke smiled and noticed that Vlair was regaining consciousness. "Look, I think he's…"

"NOOOOOOOOOO!" Vlair shouted and bolted upright. He was tired, confused, and in a state of panic. What in the world happened? He closed his eyes and placed his hand on his head. He was having a big headache that kept hurting whenever he thought of what just happened. _Masks. Theatre. Blue. Red. Yellow. Past. WHAT IN GOD'S NAME IS GOING ON?_ He was gasping for air. The events that took place before began to shock him. Being strapped to a chair, forced to remember the past, seeing weird people that look like him, all of this was just too much for him to handle.

He opened his eyes and noticed that he was surrounded by a green glow. He felt better, much better than he was before. He turned to look around him and what he saw almost gave him a heart attack! "GAAHHH! GET AWAY!"

"Hey, hey, easy pal, don't you recognize us?" Vlair turned to where the voice came from and saw two people.

"Y-Yosuke? And Chie! Quick, you have to get me out of here! There's a frog-eyed thing with a scarf right behind me!"

Yosuke laughed and Chie kicked him in the stomach. "Now's not the time to laugh, Hanamura! Okay, Vlair, I know this is hard to believe, but those two are good guys."

Vlair scratched his head. "Two? But there's only… WOAH!" Vlair saw Tomoe floating beside Chie and was almost about to faint.

"Hey, Vlair! It's okay! Just calm down!" Chie remarked after seeing him almost stumbling to his knees.

Vlair, who's level of panic just skyrocketed, looked at Chie with doubt all over his face. "Calm down? CALM DOWN? How can I calm down at a time like this?"

Yosuke placed his hand on Vlair's shoulder. "Look, I know things look bad, but we're here to rescue you!"

After he said that, the whole theatre was shaking and the Shadow Fiend emerged from the rubble.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!"


	7. Chapter 7: The Curtain Call

**Author's Note:**

**Hey Everybody!**

**Before we get started, let me just point out that my guess/hypothesis was right!**

**The P3 movie site did have something to do with the full moons! So keep your eyes peeled for the next one! (August 31?)**

**A bet was HELD by some of my friends a while back about the site, and I can't help but feel sorry for them having to do my homework. :D**

**But enough of that, here's the next chapter!**

**It's pretty long, but I think it's okay.**

**2 more chapters to go! Can you think of a way on how I can possibly end this story?**

**Just wait and see!**

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Chapter 7: The Curtain Call

"Damn, this guy just won't give up will he?" Yosuke was pulling Vlair out of the way when the Shadow appeared. The Shadow Fiend raised his fist in the air and drove it straight towards the floor. A huge quake shook the theatre making the others lose their balance. Vlair caught sight of the Fiend and felt uneasiness.

Looking on what has become of the people who tried to kill him made his heart race. "NO! Get away from me!" Vlair got up to his feet and tried to run for the exit.

"Hey, don't leave yet! You didn't get to see the end of the show yet!" The blue masked Shadow made a run for it to try to catch Vlair, but Titan rammed him to a wall.

"OW! YOU PIECE OF- RAAAAAGH!" The Shadow was trying to get out of Titan's grip, but Tomoe and Jiraiya attacked him from behind.

The Shadow recovered from the hits and was furious. "YOU'RE ALL SO ANNOYING! JUST DIE ALREADY!" The others tried to chase after Vlair but the Shadow started to go on a rampage.

It knocked down Titan sending him to the ground, grabbed him and threw his giant body at Konohana, Tomoe, and Jiraiya. The Shadow switched to it's yellow mask and gave out his famous maniacal laughter. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Let's see how long you'll last!"

Yu looked at the others. Yosuke was down, Chie was barely standing, Yukiko was knocked out, and Teddie and Vlair are out of sight. _This is not looking good._

Vlair ran towards the main hall and saw the exit doors. When he approached them, he noticed that there was a small blue figure trying to open the doors.

"Hnnnngh! Hnnngh! Oof! This is _beary _hard to open." The blue figure turned around and saw Vlair. "Oh! You must be Vlair! It's _beary _nice to meet you!"

Vlair was surprised to see a life-size stuffed teddy bear talking to him, but after everything that just happened, he could believe this one. "Are… are you going to hurt me?"

The bear pouted. "Why would I do that? I'm just trying to find a way to escape so that we could all get away from this horrible place! By the way, I'm Teddie!" Teddie stretched out his hand and offered him a handshake.

Vlair was reluctant at first, but what the heck. How much trouble could a teddy bear cause? He shook the hand and said, "Pleased to meet you."

"EEEEEEEEEEEEEEK!"

Vlair and Teddie heard a scream coming from the main theatre.

"That sounded like Yuki-chan! Come one, let's go!" Teddie was pulling Vlair with him, but Vlair stood his ground and refused to move.

"Are you crazy? Did you see that thing! It's going to kill us!" Vlair really didn't want to go back. It was like returning to sleep only to have return to a horrible nightmare.

Teddie looked into Vlairs eyes and said, "But what about Sensei and the others? Will you let them die?"

The thought never occurred to Vlair until that moment. He thought that the four of them could defeat the monster that was terrorizing him, but he knew that there was a chance that it would overpower them.

"Are you saying to give up on the people who came here to rescue you?" Teddie continued.

"Well… you left them didn't you?" Vlair said trying to find an excuse for leaving them behind.

"I was trying to find a way out so that we can all escape. If they needed me they would have called, and I would have stood by their side. That's what friends are for right?"

Vlair looked down at his feet. _Friends_. That's something he always wanted. He wanted people to accept him for who he was. He played a big game of charades just to become accepted by others, but he knew he made a mistake. He recalled those four people who he met at Junes the other day. Those four people are risking their lives for him, and what was he doing?

"I don't know what I've gotten myself into." Vlair murmured. Without thinking, he grabbed Teddie and ran all the way back to the stage area.

Yu was barely standing when they arrived. The others were scattered across the room, all trying to get up.

"Sensei!" Teddie shouted as he approached Yu.

"Teddie, do you have the leaves the fox gave us?" Yu was struggling to stand and it probably took a lot of effort to say anything at all.

"Oh look! The coward returned to his 'friends'!" The Shadow Fiend stood atop the fallen Titan's body with white light surrounding him. "These guys have been fun to play with! But once they got broken…"

"…the fun just stopped… _sniff_." The Shadow finished.

Vlair didn't move. He was staring at the thing that kept calling itself "Vlair". He didn't know what to do, but there was one thing for sure.

"I don't want to be alone! I'll stand by my friends!" He shouted.

The mask switched again. "FRIENDS?! That's a laugh! What exactly did you do for them? They came all this way just because you gave one of them a beef bowl? Just look at me! This is what I look like. THIS is my true self. All of the emotions that are within me cannot control themselves. Hatred. Sorrow. Joy. They all get get riled up whenever I think of my past. So, I chose to forget it. That's what we did right?"

Vlair froze just like before. It was true, it was all true. He did everything the Fiend said. He chose to forget the past, _his_ past. Every time he remembers it, he just forces himself to think of something else.

"LOOK AT YOU! LOOK AROUND YOU! EVERYTHING HAPPENED BECAUSE OF ME! AND DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM? I AM YOU STUPID!"

Vlair didn't deny it. He was the cause of all this. He knew that it was his fault that the others were almost dead. _Is there any way I can…_ He tightened his fist. He knew what he needed to do. He couldn't believe that all he needed to do was just…

"Fine."

The Shadow Fiend looked at Vlair and stared at him. "IDIOT! NOTHING'S FINE! HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT EVERYTHING'S FINE! DIDN'T YOU…"

"SHUT UP!" Vlair interrupted. The Shadow stopped talking and got off Titan's body. "You said that I caused you misery. You told me that my life is a joke. YOU said that I'm going to live a lonely life and will commit suicide in the process. Well, guess what?! If you want me to make your life better, then I will!"

The Shadow, looking a bit more worried, moved backward slowly and changed his face. "But that would mean…"

"That's right! You listen to me you blue faced idiot! You DO NOT control me! If you really are me, then isn't it right to say that I am you?"

The Shadow changed to the yellow mask and spoke. "Ha! As if! You think this is funny? By doing that, you will be doing the one thing you hate the most. Stop kidding around and just DIE!" The Shadow, with all the power it could muster, drove it's fist towards Vlair.

"Vlair!"

Four elements of magic attacked the Shadow Fiend knocking it back to the ground. Vlair turned around to see five people, his friends, smiling at him.

"It's good to be your friend." Yu said. Teddie was jumping behind him bouncing happily. "I found them! There were only four left!"

Tears were running down Vlair's eyes. _Friends_. _True Friends_. That's all he ever wanted.

"RRRRAAAHHHHH!" The Shadow got back to his feet and had his angry face on. "ASSHOLE! THAT'S IT! YOU'LL ALL DIE HERE!" The Shadow charged at them and the teens barely dodged the attack. The Shadow crashed into a wall and was covered in a pile of rubble.

"Shit! Now he's pissed!" Yosuke said as he got back to his feet.

"Vlair, you alright?" Chie asked. The redheaded teen nodded.

"How do we beat this guy? He just won't go down!" Yukiko was both nervous and was frightened as she was healing the other members.

"Vlair," Yu said, "what did it just say? It can't control it's emotions?"

"Y-yeah, that's what it said. Why?" he replied.

Yu smiled and adjusted his glasses. "This is our advantage…"

"GRRRRAAAHHHHH! WHERE ARE YOU! I'M GOING TO RIP YOU APART!" The Shadow got out of the pile of rubble and was searching for the teens.

Yu made a run for it towards the Fiend. Yukiko was dumfounded. "YU! What are you doing?!"

"Trust me!"

Yu was now within arms length of the Shadow's massive arms and when the Shadow spotted Yu it charged towards him. "THERE'S NO ESCAPE FOR…"

"You're a bad actor!" Yu shouted.

The Shadow, halfway in it's rampage, changed faces. "What?!" It missed and crashed into another wall. Yu ordered Izanagi to shoot a lightning bolt towards the Shadow.

"It can't control it's emotions! Make it sad! Or keep it laughing! Just DON'T anger it!"

The others nodded and followed Yu's plan. Teddie was up first.

"Hey mean actor! What's a bear that never get's wet? A dry-_bear_!"

The mask changed and the Shadow laughed at the joke. "Hahahaha! Dry bear!? Hahaha! Oh my gosh! That's funny! It sounds so much like dri…"

The Shadow couldn't finish it's sentence since it was being hit by Tomoe and Izagani's physical attacks. The Shadow screamed in pain. The damage that it has taken since the start of the battle was getting to him. It stood up again, but staggered.

"YOU TWO QUIT IT! WE'RE GOING TO GET OUR ASSES KICKED!" It complained while it was punching it's three-faced head.

"Ow, hey, stop it! I'm going to…" The Blue mask didn't get to finish since the Shadow drove his fist right to its temple.

"Oh, my gosh! I'm starting to see stars! Did we get those props? Hahaha!" The Shadow Fiend said after it stopped hitting itself.

The faces switched again, this time bringing the Red Mask back into play. "SHUT UP! SHUT UP! SHUT UP! YOU STUIPD IDIOTS! CONTROL YOURSELVES!"

Chie used this opportunity to strike. "Hey! Guess what? Santa Claus doesn't exist!"

The others looked at Chie blankly. Yosuke stared at her and asked, "Really Chie, really?! Santa?"

The Shadow Fiend changed it's face. "B-b-but, huh? He isn't?"

"You were saying Hanamura?" Chie smirked.

"Fine, c'mon Yukiko, let's go for it!" Yosuke said with an annoying tone. He just hates it whenever she's right and he's wrong.

"Right!" Yukiko replied.

They crushed their cards and Jiraiya and Konohana produced a powerful fiery vortex that enveloped the Shadow. The Shadow was screaming in pain as it got burned by the attack. When the flames died down, it was on it's knees, gasping for air.

"Ok, last one!" Yosuke took a deep breath and shouted. "YOUR PARENTS NEVER LOVED YOU!"

Nothing moved after he said that. Not the Shadow. Nor the teenagers. There was absolute silence in the theatre. Yosuke, realizing what he just said, muttered a small "Oh dear." The Shadow's rotating head kept switching faces faster and faster, and the clicking sound that it made kept getting louder and louder.

Soon, the head slowed down and only one mask was visible. The other two masks turned into the same red one. It glowed dark red and the red mask became the Shadow Fiend's only face.

"RRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA GGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

All at once, the Shadow Fiend stood up and went into a berserker state. It blindly charged into anything and punched everything it saw. The whole theatre was falling apart at the strength of the Shadow Fiend. The group ran towards the exit, scared out of their lives.

"Yosuke you idiot! Look what you did!" Chie said as she was running with all her might.

"I was trying to make it sad!" Yosuke replied as he caught up to her.

"I would have gotten angry at you if you said that to me! And he's me!" Vlair responded while he trying to catch up to the group. He somehow didn't have his skates on, so running was something he was not used to. "What in the world made you think that it would make me cry?!"

A huge crash and a tremor stopped his conversation. The amphitheater was being destroyed by the Shadow Fiend who's monstrous strength could never be matched. It was raging towards them like a rampaging giant.

Yu moved closer to Teddie and asked, "Where's the exit?"

Teddie sniffed the air and pointed forward. "We go straight, then take a left, then a right! But the door won't open!"

"GGGRRRRAAAAHHHH! The Shadow Fiend was right behind them, crashing through everything in sight with incredible speed. Nothing in it's path was slowing it down.

"LEFT! LEFT!" The team took a sharp turn left and ran as fast as their legs could carry them. A few seconds later, they heard the sound of the Shadow crashing into the wall. There was debris falling from the ceiling and the theatre was going to collapse soon.

"Guys, I think we lost him!" Yosuke said. Then, they heard a crash followed by an explosion of rubble. The Shadow broke out of the wall beside them and continued its pursuit.

"ARE. YOU. EVER. RIGHT?!" Vlair was shouting those words as he was trying to keep up with the group. He was currently in dead last with the Shadow catching up to him!

"RIGHT! TURN RIGHT, NOW!" As Yu screamed this order, the rest of the team followed his direction and turned right. The Shadow crashed again into the wall, only this time, it immediately got back up and continued it's rampage.

"EEEEEEK!" Yukiko screamed.

"WHY. ARE. YOU. SCREAMING?! YOU'RE. NOT. LAST. IN. LINE!" Vlair was getting exhausted, but he knew that he had to keep running unless he wanted to have a date with the berserking fiend under a ton of debris.

This was like one of those horror themed roller coasters where there's a monster chasing you, only this time, everyone was running for their lives. Sounds of debris crashing down can be heard and it didn't take long before pillars started to crack.

"Teddie, where is the exit?" Yu asked with anxiety.

"Sensei, In front of us!" Yu saw the exit right in front of them. It was quite far, but given the circumstances, they'd keep running anyway.

"This is it! The last sprint!" A card appeared in front of Yu and he summoned Izanagi. "Izanagi! The door!" Yu's Persona understood and made it's way to the door with incredible speed. It began to hack away the door, but it still wouldn't open.

"Hurry up! Yu! It's right behind us!" Yosuke shouted.

"YOU. MEAN. BEHIND. ME!" Vlair was scared. So scared that he probably grew white hair just then. His legs were telling him to stop and take a break, but his body, mind, and soul told it to keep running.

The Fiend was a few meters away from reaching Vlair and it still didn't slow down. With great speed, it inched closer and closer towards him.

"RRRRAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!"

"Keep running!" Chie yelled.

"WHAT. DO. YOU. THINK. I'M. DOING?!"

Yu gave out a sharp cry. "IZANAGI!" Izanagi got his sword and swung a mighty swing against the door. The door cracked and broke open.

"It's open!" Teddie shouted.

The theatre was falling apart. Debris was slowly piling up in front of them. Yu was the first to go out. Followed by Teddie, Chie, Yosuke, and Yukiko. Vlair was almost there until the Shadow caught him.

"Ack! Let me go!" The Shadow didn't budge, but forgot that it was still running. A huge chunk of debris hit the Fiend's the head and it fell. Upon impact, it released Vlair from it's hands and the boy ran for his life.

Slowly, the floor was cracking and the cracks were following him just like it did in the movies. The exit was just up ahead, and with one final push, Vlair gave one last superhuman effort to jump out of the theatre.

He made it.

Moments after his grand escape, the Enigmatic Theatre collapsed. The beauty that it once was, turned into a disaster zone. Debris was everywhere, lights and cameras broken, chairs and curtains were broken and torn. Everything was destroyed.

The team was outside, tired from all the running, and gasping for air. "You guys know what? We could have made the track team proud!" Yosuke was trying to cheer the team, but Vlair kicked him in the stomach.

"It's… because… of you… that… it… chased us… and almost… got… me!" Vlair fell down in exhaustion; his legs were very tired from all the running and sprinting. "Man, what a day! At least it's over right?"

Yu shook his head. "No it's not. There's still one more thing to do." Yu offered his hand to Vlair and pulled him up to his feet. Yu pointed towards the demolished theatre and that's when Vlair saw them. There were three hands trapped in the rubble, all of them were trying to get out.

Teddie approached Vlair and explained the situation. "Though Shadows are evil, they are still our inner selves. If you leave it alone, then it will just keep coming back to haunt you."

Vlair knew what he had to do. It's because of him that everything happened. The theatre. The show. His new found friends nearly dying. It was all his fault. The only thing he can to now to make amends is to finish what he started. He approached the theatre, took a deep breath, and helped pull the Three Fiends out of the pile of rocks. The Shadow Fiend reverted back to it's original three selves after the collapse of the theatre.

"Hey, you guys alright?" Vlair asked with concern

The Blue Fiend was rubbing his eyes. "No it's not! The play was ruined! We didn't even follow the script!" He was crying as usual, but Vlair understood his situation.

"Hey, it's okay," Vlair said with a calming tone. "We'll make a new one. It will be about a new adventure with all of us in it."

The Blue Fiend stopped crying and smiled for the very first time. "Really we will?! You promise?"

"Yes, I promise." The Blue Fiend gave Vlair a big hug saying, "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"

Vlair turned to see the Yellow Fiend standing tall smiling. "What are you smiling about?" Vlair asked.

"Oh, it's just funny seeing you here helping us. I mean we DID try to kill you and all." he snickered.

Vlair placed his hand on the Fiend's shoulder. "Why would I leave you guys behind? I promise, I'll never forget you guys. We're all in this together right?"

The Yellow Fiend burst out laughing. "Oh, this is hilarious!" He said placing his hand to his head. "You really are a joke! You probably don't even care about us!"

"I do."

The Fiend stopped laughing and looked back at Vlair. "I tried to hide you guys, contain you, but now I understand that it was a mistake. Listen to me because this is the truth. You will never feel sad again."

"What… do you mean?I'm not sad! "Can't you see? I'm happy! Hahahaha" The Yellow Fiend began laugh again, but eventually, he started crying. It cried just as much as the Blue Fiend did before. Vlair patted him on the back, trying to comfort him. "There, there, it's okay. Let it all out. I'm still here." The Blue Fiend approached them both and got the Yellow Fiend to stop crying. They pointed towards the direction behind him, and Vlair saw the Red Fiend.

The Fiend crossed his arms and looked like he didn't want to talk. Vlair and the other Fiends approached him and Vlair offered him his hand. "You still mad at me?"

"That's a lot of promises you're making. You gonna keep them?" the Fiend said with an angry tone.

Vlair responded with a confident voice, "I will. You are all a part of me. My sadness, joy, and anger. I was angry at myself for doing what I did, but I have learned to forgive. I forgive you all. Look at the other two, they forgave me already. Can you ever forgive me for hurting you?"

The Red Fiend, who calmed down, grabbed his hand and gave him a strong handshake. "I already have."

The Three Fiends all stretched out their hands and placed one hand on top of the other. They signaled Vlair to place his hand on top of them all, showing that they were one and united. Finally, each of the Three Fiends spoke their final goodbyes.

"Don't just dwell on the past."

"Remember it and learn from it."

"So that you can look forward to a better future."

They broke off and the Three Fiends were glowing. They each removed their masks and gave them to Vlair. In unison once more, they said, "Never forget."

The Three Fiends floated up in the air. The blue light that surrounded them grew brighter. Soon, all three merged together and formed into one being covered in blinding light. As the light died down, the five friends gathered around Vlair.

"You are about to get your Persona." Yu said.

The light was almost gone, but something unusual happened. The one being split itself into three again, and the others could see three Personas. Each were different in every aspect. They highly reminded Vlair of his Shadows since they had the same color.

The yellow one was human size with goggles for eyes, and his hands looked like they were katars.

The red one was much bigger than the yellow one. It's massive humanoid body was covered in crimson armor and it was wearing a visor. It's fists were gauntlets reaching up to it's elbows.

Finally, the blue one was colossal. It towered over everybody with a height of almost three stories high. It was aqua blue and it looked like a combination of a totem head and a Daruma doll.

Each of the Personas began to speak. "_I art Thou, Thou art I!" _They disappeared in a flash of light and resided into Vlair's consciousness.

A card appeared out of nowhere and landed on Vlair's hand. It had a picture of an hourglass with three chambers with sand it them. Vlair grew weak and his legs gave way.

"Vlair!" Everyone shouted.

Yu ran to him and manage to catch him before he fell. Yu checked to see if he was okay. "It's alright. He's fine, just exhausted." Yu noticed that Vlair was mumbling something to himself. Yu bent down closer to hear what he was trying to say.

"Lar…ca…dos…"

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**Please read and review!**


	8. Chapter 8: Closing Remarks

**Author's Note:**

**Well, here it is, Theatrics' Closing Remarks.**

**Honestly, I never knew that I'd have the courage to write and finish a fanfic before. I know that this is my first one, so I actually had one other goal besides having fun writing, which was to at LEAST finish it! **

**This is where I close and I'm proud of the results of my first fanfic. Who knows? Maybe I'll get better next time!**

**It'd be great to have some last reviews as I close the fanfic, so please do! I can't tell if you like it or not unless you say so! Don't be shy!**

**Anyway, Cheers! Have fun reading!**

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Chapter 8: Closing Remarks

The Investigation Team left the TV World and carried Vlair all the way to his house. He was sound asleep, so Yu and Yosuke had to take turns carrying him. If anyone saw them walking with a guy who's asleep on their shoulders, they would probably think that they were some nice teenagers who were helping a drunken friend.

"Man, this guy's heavy." Yosuke complained.

"That, or, you're just not very strong." Chie joked.

They arrived at Vlair's front door and checked the area. Much to their surprise, there were no signs of a fight. Yukiko tried to open the door, but it was locked.

"Um… Vlair? Do you have the keys to the door?" she asked.

Vlair was still sound asleep, so his only reply were a few snores.

"Check his pockets." Yu suggested.

Chie placed her hand into one of Vlair's pockets and produced a key. They unlocked the door and entered Vlair's house.

They placed him on the couch and decided to have a small tour inside.

"Wow, check this out guys." Chie said.

They all looked at a huge wall filled with awards.

"Best actor, best supporting actor, best director, best special effects… There's a whole casing of these!" Yosuke remarked.

"Please don't touch them." A voice from behind said.

Vlair was awake, standing up with a pillow in his hand. "They are really special to us."

The others decided to leave the awards alone and headed back to the living room. Vlair sat down on his couch still feeling very tired. "So, I guess now's a good time for a few questions and answers?"

"Yes, you can ask us anything." Yu replied.

"Also, feel free to ask me anything as well. It's only fair after all; I'm not who you think I am."

The others nodded and Vlair decided to begin asking. "Who in the world are you guys? Are you like superheroes or something?"

Yosuke laughed at his question. "No, it's not like that. You see, we're investigating the murders that's happening around town. We discovered that there is a pattern with all of the victims, so we're trying to stop the killer from continuing his killing spree."

Chie continued to answer Vlair's question. "Whenever someone's inside the TV world, we go in and rescue them before they turn up dead in the real world."

Vlair only nodded. He was, as much as possible, trying to understand everything they said. "And what was that thing that was wearing these?" He held up the Three Fiend's masks and combined them to form the original unified face.

"That was a Shadow, yours to be exact." Yu explained. "They are the negative human emotions manifested to cause malice and destruction. The one we faced earlier was different from the rest. Normally, Shadows aren't that powerful, but if someone goes into the TV world and denies his or her Shadow, then it will get stronger. However, when they accept their Shadows, their true selves, they are granted a being of enormous power that which we call a Persona."

Vlair was scratching his head in confusion. There was too much information being crammed into his head and only some of it made sense. He understood only parts of what Yu said but something kept bothering him. "So, you've all faced your own innermost selves?"

Chie, Yosuke, and Yukiko nodded. Vlair turned to Yu and expected him to say something, but he didn't. "You mean, you didn't?" Yu shrugged but still kept a straight face. "I don't know why, but I didn't need to face my Shadow in order to get my Persona."

Vlair accepted his answer. Yu wasn't like the others. There was something special about that person. "So, since I have learned to accept these guys," he began to touch all three parts of the mask with his hand, "I gained my own Persona?"

That was the question that the others didn't want to answer since Vlair was a unique case. Normally, it's a one to one ratio when it comes to Personas and themselves. One Persona, one person. But for some reason, Vlair has three.

Chie responded with a calm voice, "Well… you see… you're a special case as well. Just like Yu over here."

"That's because," Yosuke interrupted, "you have three Personas, or is it called Personae?"

Vlair only gave them blank stares. What does that mean? "But Yu can have more than one Persona. Does that mean that I'm like him too?"

Yu shook his head. "I have the ability called the Wild Card. I originally have one Persona, but I can summon more of them later on. You on the other hand, have three Initial Personas, and that's not the normal case we've been having so far."

"Could it be because I had three Shadows?" Vlair asked. Somehow, being called special made him happy. If he can do something special and unique, then people might need him.

"That could be the reason why." Yukiko replied. She was sitting down on the couch fanning herself while listening to their conversation. "We each had only one Shadow to face, so maybe that's why we only have one Persona each."

Vlair nodded. All this information was a bit hard to digest, but for some reason, it all made sense. As for the other parts… "I'll understand this better soon right?"

Yu smiled and extended his hand towards Vlair. "You will soon, as soon as we can enter the TV world again."

Vlair saw the outstretched hand, but decided to decline the offer of a hand shake. He didn't want to be rude, but he didn't feel like he agreed to what Yu was going to do to him. Yu, noticing that Vlair suddenly became quiet, decided to return to his seat. In a desperate attempt to start another conversation, Vlair asked, "So what do you guys want to know about me?"

This was it. This is the moment they have been waiting for. For the four members of the original Investigation Team, this was what they needed to know. Yosuke was up first. "So, who exactly are you?"

Vlair knew this question was going to be first and sort of prepared for it. "Well, as you all know, I am not who you think I am. All those things you've heard from school are mostly lies. Looking back, I think I probably lied to the whole school into thinking that I was someone great, someone to look up to." He looked down at the floor while hugging his pillow. He felt his heart ache when he said this. He didn't want to say it, but he needed to because he thought it would make him feel better. "I lied to everyone I know. I said that I was rich, when my mom was still starting out. I said that I was good in sports, but I barely know the basics. I said that I have been abroad and visited many countries, but I just happened to search them on the internet. I did all of this so that people would accept me."

The others were at a dismay. They would have never thought that someone would go as far as to lying to everyone he met just to be accepted. "How did you manage to hide your secret? I mean, eventually, someone will find out."

Vlair placed his hands to cover his head. "There were times where people would become suspicious, but that's where the acting comes in. As an actor, you will receive roles that don't suit your personality and you will have roles that you've never done before. So, I researched for any kind of information that would help me keep my secret. For example, the other day, Kou wanted me to play basketball with him. I knew that if I played, he'd find out that I can't, but since I told him before that I knew how to play, I just had to give it a shot. With all the tips and tricks that I found in the internet, I didn't do a horrible job during the game. But as usual, it's one thing to know something, and another thing when it comes to doing it."

"So, who are you?" Yukiko asked, "you said that you've lied to everyone you met, and we just want to know who you are. We can help you get through these difficulties, right Yu?" Yu agreed to her statement and said, "For us to help you, you'd better not lie to us right now."

Vlair knew that. In fact, he shouldn't lie to them. They helped him, saved him, from the nightmares of that TV world. Nightmares that were still haunting him. He cleared his throat and began to explain who he was.

"I am not the kind of person who would talk all the time. In school, I whenever I spoke, I speak of things that have never happened to me before. All those things that you've heard from school are mostly lies. My popularity is only based on the foundation of misinformation that I spread throughout the school. It was believable only because I know how to manage different roles in my acting career."

He paused and let everything sink in for a while. He was starting to receive a slight pain in his head but ignored it. He breathed in and continued his explanation.

"If you are asking who I am, then the basics would be my interests and hobbies, yes? You can most likely know a person by knowing his interests right? Well, these are the things that I like to do. I like to act, sing, play video games, go roller skating, eating at Aiya's, and most of all, just spending time with myself. If there are things you've heard from school that I didn't say just now, they are most likely lies."

This was a surprise to them. The things that Vlair just said can probably fit a small note pad, but the things they've heard in school could probably fill an entire grocery list.

Vlair felt like a huge weight was lifted from his chest. This whole time, he's been having doubts whether or not to tell the truth seeing that his whole world is filled with lies. Lies which he created.

Yu stood up and stared at Vlair. "Do you really want to keep your promise earlier?"

Vlair averted his yellow and blue eyes from his gaze. He remembered the promise that he said to his fellow Shadows. "… Yes… I do."

"Then look at me when I am talking to you."

Vlair suddenly felt a tremendous amount of guilt in his chest. It was hurting, but he followed Yu's command. Yu didn't look mad, but he approached Vlair in a caring manner with a slight hint of strictness.

"If so, then you must know that you will have to confess to everyone right?"

Vlair nodded in agreement.

"Agreeing won't solve anything. Tell me, are you going to tell everyone that you lied to them?"

Vlair's heart suddenly fell to a halt. "I… I can't… they'd hate me for it. I'd lose everyone!" Vlair wanted to stop, but Yu only continued his conversation.

"If you tell them the truth, I am not saying that you won't be hated. You did lie to them, but it will be a great relief to yourself wouldn't it?"

Vlair knew where he was going. Yu was just too smart for anyone to disagree with him.

"Think of it this way. Which is better: People who like you because of a nice golden watch, or because of the person wearing it?"

Vlair looked straight into Yu's eyes and understood what he was saying.

"If you do tell everyone your mistakes, and they hate you for it, don't worry. We'll be there for you. That's what friends are for. Right guys?"

Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko nodded in unison. Each had a smile on their face. "We will." Yosuke said.

Tears were suddenly slowly appearing on Vlair's eyes. These people are actually his friends. Friends who would not abandon him and would stand by him through thick and thin. "I will. I promise." he said.

"Then you'd better get ready. When we see each other at school, you'll have to tell everyone and apologize to them." Yu replied.

"School? So soon?! Can't we wait for like, a week or two?" It was a scary thought having to tell the whole student body that he lied to almost everybody. The worst that could happen is that they would all try to beat him up for lying. And that's just for the first day.

Yu understood his concern, but told him that the sooner the better. "If you don't do it quick, then the lies will only pile up until it gets harder to control. Do you still want to live in a world full of lies and deception?"

Vlair suddenly had a small choking feeling. Yu was right, and for someone to say this so calmly isn't normal. Does he even know his situation? Vlair calmed himself by thinking of his sister. He does this to bring him at ease because she was his sister, his friend. "I understand." he managed to reply.

"Great!" Yosuke shouted. He was happy that the two got along and he wanted to get down to the important part of the discussion. "So Vlair, will you help us?"

"Huh?" Vlair said in confusion.

"Sit down you idiot! And there's no need to shout!" Chie barked at Yosuke. She ordered him to sit down and threatened him to keep his mouth quiet.

"You see," Yukiko continued while ignoring the two argue, "We will need your help. The Shadows will get stronger, and based on your Shadow's power, we could use a powerful ally."

Vlair avoided Yukiko's kind smile. He didn't want to say anything to them for now. He placed his hand in his pocket and touched something that felt like paper. He didn't bring anything with him earlier, so what could possibly be in his pocket? Without knowing, he pulled out his hand and produced a card. It had a mask decoration at the back, but when he flipped it, he saw an hourglass. "What is this?" he asked.

He showed the card to the others and gave everyone puzzled looks. "This isn't a normal card is it?" Chie asked Yu. As the expert in Persona Tarot Cards, Yu was completely stumped for once. "I've never seen it before. But I believe I know someone who does." He started to take note of the image of the hourglass and committed it to memory. "An hourglass is supposed to have two glass chambers right?" Yukiko asked. She pointed at the middle one, the third chamber. "But this one has three."

Past…Present…Future...

"Past, present, and future?" Vlair questioned.

The others turned to look at him and were surprised at his conclusion. "How does that make any sense?" Yosuke asked.

Vlair only shrugged. He didn't know where he got the idea, but to him it all made sense. "Well, I don't know how to explain it, but my Shadows kept talking about my past, present and future right? They even made a play about it. So, do you see this glass right here?" He pointed at the top chamber, the first one. "It's filled with sand right? This is the 'Future' chamber. It holds the most sand because the sand represents our lives. As we continue our lives, it flows down the hourglass until it reaches this one." He began to lead everyone's eyes towards the center chamber. "This is the 'Present' Chamber. The sand that flows from the first chamber and leads here. This is because as we continue living, our 'future' eventually becomes our present, and when time passes…" He gestured his finger towards the final chamber. "… it flows to the final chamber. The 'Past' Chamber. See how it's much bigger compared to the rest? That's because it will be filled up eventually from the sand coming from the first two chambers."

He finished his explanation and left to take a seat. The others were stunned at his explanation. How could he have known all of this? "You're just making that up, aren't you?" Yosuke joked.

Vlair shook his head. "Nope, I know it's true."

"So tell us, what's the name of your card?"

Vlair thought for a moment. Somehow, he can't answer that question. Maybe it's because he hadn't given much thought about it. "I'm sorry, but I don't know."

The others sighed. This was the first time that they saw a new card, and all of them wanted to know what it was. Yu mumbled, "Igor…" Vlair noticed this and asked, "Come again?" Yu shook his head. "It's nothing. Say, about your Personas, have they, um, talked to you yet?"

"Talked? You mean speak? Can they do that?" Vlair asked.

The others, except Yukiko, groaned.

"Well," Chie remarked, "it's not that they can't talk to you, but since they are Personas, they technically have a personality right?"

Vlair agreed with her. It made sense though because the word personality did have a relation with the word persona.

"So, they do talk to us sometimes." Chie continued.

"You might not understand this yet since you just got your Persona. Even Yukiko doesn't know if her Persona talks or not, and she's already had her Persona for a while now." Yu said.

Vlair was currently at his limits now. Any other information that's going to enter his brain will most likely be thrown out. He's tired, confused, and he needed some rest. "Uh, guys," he said with a calm tone, "as much as I'd like to talk more about this topic, but I kinda need some rest." The others agreed. It was normal for someone who just accepted their Shadows to feel exhausted.

"Okay Vlair, we understand." Yosuke said. "But if ever you need to talk to us, there's always school, or the Junes Food Court."

"I'll keep that in mind."

Yu and the others were almost out the door until Yu stopped and asked Vlair a question. "You didn't answer our question yet."

The others stopped in their tracks and turned to face Yu. Yu slowly turned and faced Vlair and continued, "I'm not forcing you, but I just want to know, are you going to help us? Fight against Shadows I mean."

Vlair bit his lip. He wanted to avoid answering this question so badly that he just wanted to run from it. He wouldn't mind helping because they were his friends. They risked their lives for him, and it's only fair that he'd help them back. But still, he thought.

GO, GO, GO!

Justgoalready! Justgoalready!

...

"I-I won't." He managed to say. The others were shocked and disappointed. They had their hopes up, but they wouldn't go so far as to force someone to help.

"In that world, I almost died. You guys almost died. What if we are put into that same situation again?! You said that those Shadows will get stronger, so what happens if they do beat us? Will we be able to survive until this mystery is solved?"

The others were all quiet now, even Yu began to find the floor somewhat more amusing than the conversation. "We understand." he managed to say. He turned around and said goodbye.

"I'm sorry. I just can't." Vlair said just before they closed the door. He didn't know if they heard him or not, but what he knew is that he needed to get some rest because school is just around the corner, and he didn't want to face everybody in school with no energy. He had to be prepared just in case they run after him like an angry mob.

BAD MOVE!

Wrongchoice! Wrongchoice!

…

"Wow, I'm even hearing voices now." he murmured. He grabbed some pillows, turned of the lights, and went to sleep.

School was waiting for Vlair to come back. It was calling him to enter and spend a few hours studying so that he could be accepted into better colleges. In Vlair's mind, he can almost hear his own voice talking to him.

SCHOOL!

Yay!Yay!Yay!

…

He passed by many familiar faces, but he didn't know any of them by heart. They were the people who liked him because of the things he said, or rather because of the lies he spoke.

THIS IS THE DAY!

Goodluck!Goodluck!

…

This is the day alright, he said to himself. He kinda knew that it was his Personas talking to him right now. Ever since the moment he woke up, he was greeted with a shout and a super fast sentence that sounded like it was one word. He wondered where the third one was, but all he heard was silence. At least one's quiet, he thought.

But with those aside, he just wanted this day to end. If only he can have his Personas back him up in the real world, he'd probably feel more confident right now.

WE'RE RIGHT HERE!

We'rewithyou, we'rewithyou!

…

Thanks guys. Even you, quiet dude!

He entered the classroom and was immediately bombarded with people he barely even knew. They asked him when he was free so that he can hangout with them, or go out with them. Some even asked him about his opinion on certain countries to visit, while some asked him if he wanted to play some sports with them later on.

_Oh God, if they found out…_

YOU'D BETTER BE PREPARED!

Torunrunrun!

…

"Guys, I think Vlair will first need to take his seat."

The crowd of students turned and saw Yu point at a seat next to him. "I'm sure he will come to a decision later after school, so come back alright?"

The others smiled and decided to ask again later. They left Vlair alone and went back to their original seats. Vlair moved aside and sat down next to Yu. "Thanks for saving me back there." he said.

"Don't thank me yet," Yu said with a smile, "thank me after you get out of school in one piece."

Vlair's smile suddenly turned into a frown. "You know, I don't know if I should thank you later, or hate you later."

Yu only continued to smile. "Hey, it's either you get this over with or postpone it. But don't worry, we'll be with you all the way."

Vlair groaned at his reply. "You just sound like the rest of them."

Before Yu could question about what he said, King Moron barged in and began his daily routine.

Time went by quickly, and before Vlair knew it, the final minutes of school were ticking.

It's like a time bomb waiting to explode…

IT'S ALMOST TIME!

Youreadyyet?Youreadyyet?

…Good luck…

Thanks…Huh?…Wait a minute, did you just talk?

The school bell rang and the time bomb exploded. Soon, the original crowd came back asking for his answer. Vlair was still in his seat and couldn't find a way to get out. He caught a glimpse of Yu, Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko who were sitting on their desks. They were there for him, just like they said they would. Each of them gave him a thumbs up for support.

Vlair began to say a short prayer in hopes that he will survive the next ten minutes.

_Dear God, if ever you're listening, please help me!_

WE'RE SUPPORTING YOU!

Yup!Yup!Yup!Yup!

…

Well then, here goes…

"Um, guys, there's something you should know…" he began.

The others, who respected him for his achievements, began to quiet down.

"Uh, where do I begin?" His heart was pounding faster and faster; his mind was racing for excuses he could use, but he knew that this is what he had to do. He turned to Yu, and in return, Yu gave him a signal that said "Go for it."

Vlair took a deep breath, which was most probably his last.

"I lied."

The other students were stunned. Puzzled, but stunned. They didn't know what he was talking about and how to react.

"I lied to all of you. I'm no sportsman. I'm not rich. I'm not as perfect as you all might think. I lied to all of you just so that you all can accept me and be my friends. I deceived you all into thinking that I was perfect, but in reality, I just used my acting skills to become someone I'm not. If ever I hurt any of you, I am sorry, and if you hate me right now, you have all the reason to hate me. But most of all, I am sorry for lying to you all for my own selfish desires. All I wanted was to be accepted for who I am."

The other students were quiet. Too quiet. At this point, Vlair was getting really scared and his whole body became tensed and nervous.

THAT WAS GREAT!

Youdidit! Youdidit!

… Wait for it...

Almost at once, everyone changed from their original happy moods to much, much angrier ones.

"Liar!"

"Fraud!"

"Faker!"

"I can't believe this!"

"I thought you were the one for me!

"Stupid idiot!"

"Do you know how this makes me feel?!"

Soon, one by one, everybody left him. He was all alone again. This hurt him a lot more than he thought it would.

_It's just like before..._

BUT YOU HAVE FRIENDS NOW!

Yeahthat'sright! That'sright!

…Right...

_Friends?_

Yu, Yosuke, Chie, and Yukiko approached him and comforted him.

"Hey cheer up," Yosuke said, "it will be alright."

"You'll see," Chie kept her usual smiling face, but couldn't find the right words to say to him. "Things will turn out to be better than you might think!"

Vlair was down. He wasn't in the mood to talk right now. What he wanted to do was to run away and never look back. He began to pack his stuff and prepare to leave.

Yukiko looked at him and asked, "Vlair, is everything okay? Talk to us! We're your friends!"

As much as Vlair wanted to, he just didn't want to talk to them. He doesn't know if they helped him or not, but as far as he knows, things were looking rather dim now.

He finished packing and before leaving, he turned to face Yu, the current source of everything that just transcribed. "Tell me, will things get better?"

Yu was always calm and composed but after seeing the scene, he tensed up. He knew what was Vlair feeling right now and the only words that he could possibly say to make things better was, "It will."

"You don't seem to believe in that." Vlair said. "…Goodbye."

Vlair ran out of the classroom while the members of the Investigation Team were trying to call him back. He ignored them as he ran across a sea of eyes staring at him with hatred and disgrace. He lied to them all, and the word spread faster than a forest fire. Everyone, even the teachers already knew about him. They saw him run, and they let him be. They judged him for what he has done, and he deserved it.

He went to his locker, grabbed his skates, and sped away.

The rain came unexpectedly, and it seemed to follow Vlair as he skated towards some shelter. The closest place he can find was at Aiya's. At least nobody will be here.

He entered the diner, and Aiya was there to welcome him. "Ah, welcome, welcome. What will you have today?" Vlair, all drenched in rain, didn't feel hungry at all. "Nothing" he said. His appetite disappeared with his feeling of happiness and joy. He sat down and banged his head on the table.

_Why?! Why did I follow Yu?! Everything just got worse!_

He was beginning to cry and tears were slowly dripping down from his face.

WE'RE… SORRY…

Sorry!Sorry!Sorry!

…Sorry…

_Shut up! You guys aren't making me feel any better! You all told me to change my ways, but look at what it has done to me! I-I'm back to where I started!_

"Here."

"Huh?"

Vlair looked up and saw a bowl with beef filled to the brim sitting right next to him. He turned and saw Aika, completely changed from her school uniform to her normal uniform.

"I didn't order anything. You can take it back." he said.

Aika sat down next to him and said, "This is our rainy day special. It's free if you finish the whole bowl."

Aika's blank expression and monotonous voice didn't make him feel any better. All he could say was, "You can have it then 'cause I'm not hungry."

Aika grabbed a pair of chopsticks and began to eat the beef bowl. "Are you okay?" She said blackly.

That was a question that Vlair didn't want to answer. He chose to ignore it while grumbling about his earlier experience.

Aika ate one more piece of beef until she asked again. "Hey, are you okay?" Her black expression was still there, but her tone had a slight hint of concern.

Vlair gave up and decided to answer. "Leave me alone, that's what everybody did anyway." He continued to mope around until he heard Aika reply to his statement.

"I won't leave you. What happened in school was painful wasn't it?"

Vlair banged his head on the table again, shaking everything on it. "This is probably one of the worst days of my life, and I bet that it will keep happening until I graduate. Just forget that I exist alright?"

Aika kept eating and eating her Mega Beef Bowl while still staying beside Vlair.

Vlair got irritated and sat up straight and looked at Aika. "Why are you still here?"

She didn't reply, but kept on eating.

"I told you to leave me alone. I don't want to talk about school okay?"

At this point, Aiya went back into the storage room while Aika kept on eating. "You said to forget the you exist right?" Aika said with her blank expression.

OOO, SHE GOT YOU GOOD!

She'sasmartone! Asmartoneindeed!"

…

Vlair groaned and banged his head on the table for a third time.

"If you keep hitting your head on the table, you might need to pay for that."

Vlair was getting annoyed and decided to end the conversation quickly. "Why are you still here? Don't you hate me?" he asked while his head was still on the table.

"Why should I hate you?"

At this point, Vlair stood up and shouted his concerns all at Aika.

"WHY?! I JUST LIED TO EVERYONE INCLUDING YOU! THE WHOLE SCHOOL'S MAD AT ME, AND THEY ALL HATE ME! I WAS STUPID THINKING THAT EVERYTHING WOULD TURN OUT TO BE FOR THE BETTER, BUT I WAS WRONG! THEY WON'T LIKE ME; THEY WON'T ACCEPT ME BECAUSE I LIED TO THEM!"

He was crying now, crying for the first time in a while. He felt so sad, so depressed about his life. It made him think about what the Red Fiend said about him ending his own life.

HEY! DON'T THINK ABOUT WHAT I SAID BEFORE!

That'sinthepastnow! Thinkofthepresent!

…

"I don't hate you." Aika said.

Vlair turned to see Aika looking straight at him. She still had a chopstick in her hand, but gave a handkerchief to Vlair. Vlair took it and wiped his tears away.

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why don't you hate me? Everyone else does."

"Oh," she said while continuing to eat her beef bowl. "That's simple. I never liked you as the person I saw in school."

Vlair was puzzled and confused. "Is that supposed to make me feel better? 'Cause, it really isn't."

"I said I never liked the person you were in school, meaning, I didn't like you because of your lies. I liked you as the person who eats at this diner."

Aika grabbed a tissue from the box beside her and wiped her mouth. Vlair saw the remains of the Mega Beef Bowl and was turned to stone when he saw that her bowl was empty. _She finished it! But how?_

"I liked the person who sits here and laughs with the other customers. I liked the person who enjoys talking about his experiences while drinking his iced tea. I liked the person who eats his beef bowls and never complains about the food. I liked the person who would sit outside the diner just so that when we open, he's there to greet us. But most of all, I liked the person who will stay here in this small diner all day just to try to make me smile."

Aika smiled at him, and seeing a smile from her was like seeing a star falling out of the sky and crash landing to earth; it was that rare and unseen.

She took the handkerchief back from Vlair and continued to comfort him. "I know that you are having difficulties, but sometimes, it's better to share them. Talk to others, talk to your friends, talk to me. It's better like that. If you talk to people, not only will you open up, but it will help others see who you are. It's not a simple thing to do, even I can't do much of it, but once a conversation starts, things can go in many different ways."

Vlair was at a lost for words. He understood that she was trying to help him get through his bad day, but part of him thought that Aika was trying to tell him something rather important.

He smiled, and she smiled. Soon the sun began to shine, and the clouds cleared the way for the light to hit the streets.

AWW, DON'T THEY LOOK AWESOME TOGETHER?!

Yuperoo! Yuperoo!

…

Aika stood up from her seat and brushed off the rice that were on her apron. "I've got some deliveries to make, so I'd better get back to work."

Before she left, Vlair caught her hand.

She turned to face Vlair, with her face turning bright red, but she quickly changed back into her usual poker face. Vlair, who sort of understood what she was trying to say, said, "Need some help?"

The blue haired girl replied, "Yes, I'd appreciate it."

After hearing those words, the owner Aiya appeared out of nowhere and gave Vlair his new clothes for work. "Here you go! Now the both of you better hurry. Due to the rain earlier, people have been asking for deliveries! I made them while you two were… y'know." He pointed at the stacks of bowls that were sitting on the far corner of the counter. Dozens of bowls were stacked up beside each other, all with addresses next to them.

Vlair was frozen in his place, but he noticed that he was still holding onto Aika's hand. He quickly let go and felt a sudden redness in his cheeks.

AWWW, WOULD YA LOOK AT THAT!

Hee! Hee! Hee!

…

Aika wore her helmet and began putting the bowls into her bike. "I'd better show you around Inaba. It will be better that way. Think of this as your official first day of work."

Vlair took the apron and wrapped it around his waist. He didn't feel so sad and depressed anymore. All of his doubts and worries suddenly disappeared.

Aika gave him a helmet and asked, "Can you keep up with me?"

Vlair smiled, "You bet!"

"Oh my God! This hurts so much!"

AT LEAST YOU GOT A GOOD EXERCISE!

Andsomeoneononetimewithher! Withher!

…Yep…

_Honestly, what am I going to do with you guys?_

His whole body ached from all the skating and delivering that he almost had to ask Aika to carry him home.

Before going to bed, he noticed that his sister replied to his email.

He opened his inbox and read her email.

Hello!

It's nice to hear from you after all this time! :3

I missed you so much!

So mom left for the city eh?

I might as well say hi to her! :D

Aww, you got a job already! Work hard!

Of course you can talk to me! I'm here for you!

What are brothers and sisters for?

Whenever I'm free, just talk to me!

(lol, that rhymes!) :P

Vlair noticed that she was indeed online and decided to talk to her.

"You would never believe what has happened to me this past week." he typed.

He decided to tell her about all the things that has happened to him. The kidnapping. The TV world. Shadows. Personas. Everything. Even school.

He wondered if she would think that he was crazy, but she was his sister; she'd definitely listen to him.

She gave a reply saying,

"Try me"

The End

* * *

**Please Read and Review! **

**(I know that the story is drawing to a close, but I just want to know if anyone wants me to continue it! If so, then kindly say so!)**


	9. Chapter 9: Epilogue

**Author's Note:**

**It's been a long journey for me as a writer. I would have never thought that I'd finish a fanfic, but today is the day that I end it!**

**Not bad for a first time don't you think? **

**Well, I can finally mark this one as complete, so to all those readers who read this fanfic during their free time, I thank you.**

**Without further ado, here's the epilogue.**

* * *

Chapter 9: Epilogue

"So… you were trapped in a TV world?"

"Yup."

"Which was a gigantic theatre?"

"It was an enigmatic one too."

"And, you faced a big bad monster?"

"Not just one, but three of them."

"You said that there was only one."

"That's because the other three combined to form one big guy."

"Then your new found friends came to rescue you with their powers?"

"Yeah, they can summon something called a Persona."

"And at the end of it all, the monster became your Persona?"

"Yeah, that was after me beating the Olympic Record. I accepted them, and they became a part of me."

Vlair's sister suddenly stopped replying after the last message. It had taken him a few moments to reflect on what he had just done. He was telling his big sis about some crazy adventure he had in a television where monsters are real and the heroes are a bunch of teenagers. It's almost like a game, except it can't possibly be one. He was thinking that there was no way his sister could think that he's normal now. He probably thought that his sister was worried that her brother was becoming mentally unstable.

"I believe you, little bro."

He couldn't believe it. His sister, his older sister, actually believes his crazy story. He doubted her at first and typed, "You're kidding, right?"

"Unless you are! Look, I'm your sister, and I should always look out for my younger brother. If you say that there's a TV World with Shadow Monsters and stuff, then I believe you. So, relax alright!"

He could have cried right after he saw the message. Of all the people to believe his story, it was his sister, the person who he hadn't seen in a long time.

She continued the conversation with a much different topic. "So, how's school?"

_Of all the questions she could ask…_

"It's fine." he lied.

"… Should I know what happened?"

_Oh come on! This she doesn't believe, but the crazy monster story, she finds believable._

"No. I can handle it."

"Well, alright. Cheer up ok! So, how was work?"

"It was fine. I got to do a bunch of deliveries all around Inaba. Aika taught me the places, and she even showed me a few shortcuts."

"Wow! Who is this Aika person? She must be great at her job! "

"Yeah, she's amazing. She can do all kinds of stuff that no one can normally do."

"It seems that you know so much about her! Hee Hee! You like her don't you?"

YOUR SISTER'S ON TO YOU!

Shessoawesome! andfunny! andsupersmart!

…

"So, I heard that you work now. What exactly do you do?"

"Well, it's hard to explain, but let's just say that I work for a very important person. So, um… are you starting to hear voices or anything?"

SHE KNOWS WE EXIST!

Endtheconversation! Endit! Endit! Endit!

…

This was a surprise to Vlair, not only were his inner selves correct, but he wondered how his sister knew about them? Unless of course…

"You really think I'm going crazy don't you?"

"No I don't! Sheesh! I just want to know if you're hearing voices even if you're all alone at home."

Vlair was slowly thinking that she's pulling his leg, but just to delight her, he was going to continue telling the truth.

"Yep, I do! One's loud. One's too fast to comprehend. While one's really quiet. We get along very well."

YOU BET WE DO!

We'reapartofyou! We'llneverleaveyou!

…Right…

Vlair can't help but smile. He actually enjoyed having his three "selves" with him. They were like a comfort to him now.

"Wait a minute. THREE? Don't you just hear one only?"

"Um… no. I can hear all three of them. More importantly, do you know anything about what's happening to me right now?"

"Nope! I have no idea what you're talking about! Tee hee! I'm just wondering if you're just normally talking to yourself! Say, are you going with your friends to that TV World and save mankind from death and destruction?"

_Sis, do you really believe everything I've said?_

"No, I won't"

"Awww, why not? They helped you! Now's the time to return the favor!"

"I ALMOST DIED THERE! I am not risking my life for some sort of crazy adventure. They can do what they want, but I don't want to be a part of it."

"You remind me of myself when I was your age. I had friends who wanted my help, but I declined. I always declined their requests. But I changed. I chose not to be passive anymore. I also know someone who was like you. He didn't want to help, but in the end, he did. Help your friends! It's what friends do!"

Vlair thought of the idea. He has special powers now, so maybe going in won't be so bad. Plus, he has a very strong Persona. How much trouble can he possibly get in?

WE ARE POWERFUL!

Verypowerful! Veryveryverypowerful!

…

"I'll think about it."

"Yipee! You're going to help! This way, you can also make new friends!"

"Sigh, you know what? I just want to have a normal life. A life like yours maybe."

"You think that I'm living a normal life?"

"Well, it's probably better then mine. You already graduated, and you are working for a very important company. How bad could it be?"

His sister typed eight words.

Those eight words caused Vlair to rethink his opinion on who his sister was. _How could she have…?_

"Do you still want to live me life? That's just the tip of the iceberg."

"Have you… you know…"

"No, I have not, and will not do that. Ever."

"Okay… You sure you're okay?"

"Are you sure that you are? Look, just get some sleep. The next few days will be a life changer for you. Trust me! I know these things!"

_Sure you do. _Vlair thought rolling his eyes.

"Alright. Goodnight."

"Goodnight! Love you!"

"Love you too"

His sister logged out and Vlair went straight for his bed. He needed some rest, and some painkillers maybe. If his body kept aching the whole night, he might not be able to get some sleep.

"You guys alright?" he asked to himself.

NEVER BETTER!

We'reokay! We'reokay

…Fine…

"Well, let's all get some sleep, okay? We have a long day ahead of us. I just pray that things will get better."

Vlair turned off the lights, lied down on his bed, and slowly drifted to sleep. He was not aware of it, but there were three voices that said something to him.

"Long"

"Live"

"The Chronicler"

* * *

**Please Read and Review!**

**Oh, and to those who are wondering what big sis said, here's a hint:**

**A's N:**

**48357621 Curious? XD**


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